Chapter 72 Can’t Pretend to be A Anymore

Chapter 72 The Alpha Facade Crumbles

The Alpha Facade Crumbles

The words blazed across the screen:

When these lines appeared on the screen, everyone in the auditorium seemed petrified.

Time stood completely still at that moment. The audience below froze, forgetting to react.

After a beat, someone finally regained their senses and shrieked in utter disbelief:

"CEO Chu has a 100% bond compatibility with three alphas???"

"That's impossible! Is the machine malfunctioning?!"

"Alphas can't bond with alphas!"

The scene before them left everyone present thunderstruck.

Everyone's immediate assumption was that the machine must be broken.

No one had ever doubted Chu Mo's gender as an omega.

After all, Chu Mo looked every bit like a prime alpha, exuding the charm and alpha pheromones of a top-tier alpha—though many alphas and betas had fallen for him, that only proved his charismatic appeal.

At this moment, no one would equate Chu Mo with an omega.

Below the stage.

Xie Songchen gaped, staring at the screen.

He thought he was dreaming.

Someone nearby noticed Xie Songchen's reaction and, after a beat, turned to ask him, "President Xie, why are you... compatible with CEO Chu?"

Xie Songchen's breath caught in his throat as he realized this wasn't a dream.

His fingers trembled slightly, unable to believe it was real. He stood lightning-struck, rooted to the spot.

On the other side, Chi Cheng was similarly thunderstruck.

He robotically turned, pointing at the screen in shock:

"That... has my name?"

His voice quavered with stunned disbelief, cautious, afraid he might have misread it.

Chi Cheng's parents were also dumbfounded—how could their alpha son be matched with CEO Chu, a prime alpha?

As for Zhou Jingyan, upon seeing this, he viciously pinched his own thigh.

Wide-eyed, he stared at his name on the compatibility list, reeling with disbelief.

"This... can't be real..." Zhou Jingyan murmured, his voice trembling. "How could...?"

No one could bring themselves to believe it was real.

Not even Chu Mo himself. Clutching his neck where his scent gland was, he took measured breaths, fighting to calm his pounding heart.

When Chu Mo saw the words on the screen, he stood frozen, his face filled with disbelief.

"What's going on?!" Du Lin glared at the three names that came before his own, then turned angrily to the staff. "Is this machine malfunctioning??"

He had intended to create a surprise, to let everyone know that he and Chu Mo were meant to be.

Unexpectedly, there were three alphas ranked ahead of him—the would-be fiancé!

"Check the machine now!" Du Lin roared at the staff.

The staff hadn't anticipated such a huge mistake either.

But like Du Lin, they were sure it was the machine's fault—

Chu Mo was an alpha, so how could he match with other alphas?

Even if Chu Mo were an omega, it was impossible for him to have a 100% compatibility score with three alphas!

After inspecting the equipment with everyone watching closely, the staff broke out in a cold sweat.

There didn’t seem to be any issues.

Could the filter settings they had added earlier be incorrect?

Hesitating briefly, the staff removed the restriction condition Du Lin had insisted on: "Hide matches under 95%."

Immediately, they restarted the machine.

Du Lin grabbed Chu Mo's hand and said to him, "Mo-Mo, let's test again. Otherwise, everyone will misunderstand and think you're an omega."

Chu Mo looked at Du Lin, his lips pressed tightly together, not saying yes or no.

On one hand, Chu Mo didn’t want to test his match with Du Lin.

On the other, he also wanted to know what had just happened.

Seeing that Chu Mo didn’t refuse, Du Lin picked up the pheromone reader and placed it against Chu Mo’s gland, gathering the remaining sample.

Once the staff removed the restrictions—

The moment Chu Mo’s pheromones came into contact with the reader, the machine began whirring to life, emitting a loud hum.

The next second.

It was as if the machine had been hacked.

A long list of matches spammed the screen.

100%, 95%, 94%...

The number of names with a match percentage of 90% or higher with Chu Mo reached over thirty!

The catch? Every single one of them was an alpha.

Du Lin’s face went white.

His would-be fiancée matched so well with so many people?!

What kind of biology was this?!

The final three names displayed remained unchanged: Zhou Jingyan, Chi Cheng, and Xie Songchen.

The match rate was a staggering 100%.

Chu Mo’s eyes flew open, his breath hitching.

"Crash—"

Chi Cheng abruptly stood up with such force that he accidentally overturned the banquet table in front of him.

His expression, beyond shock, held a disbelieving joy—like a drowning man grasping at a lifeline.

The next second, the wine glass in Zhou Jingyan's hand slipped and fell.

Red wine splattered across Zhou Jingyan’s pristine white suit, leaving the rising star looking thoroughly disheveled.

But he barely noticed, his pupils shaking, lips going pale.

The room erupted into chaos.

Chu Yansheng’s face twisted in fury. He’d never imagined Chu Mo could match with so many alphas—now, claiming a machine glitch would be laughable.

Chu Yansheng stepped onto the stage, picked up the microphone, and prepared to stop the spectacle:

"Everyone, there’s been an unforeseen issue. The testing machine malfunctioned. I must ask the press to stop recording. I’ll take my son backstage first. Next, they will proceed with the ring exchange..."

Chu Mo’s legs turned to lead.

He could only watch as Chu Yansheng strode toward him, hand extended.

Chu Yansheng’s intent was obvious—force Chu Mo to put on the ring and seal the engagement.

Chu Mo recoiled on instinct.

But his heat symptoms wracked his body, forcing a grimace.

Just keeping his pheromones in check was draining him.

"Xiao Mo, you know," Chu Yansheng lowered the microphone, his voice hushed as he stared at Chu Mo, "this marriage alliance is non-negotiable. No slip-ups."

Chu Yansheng seized Chu Mo’s wrist, jerking his head at Du Lin to slide on the ring.

Chu Mo’s breath came ragged, his heart hammering against his ribs.

He couldn’t wrap his head around this farce of an engagement.

His own father was manhandling him into exchanging rings.

It was beyond absurd.

His heat symptoms flared hotter.

He twisted against Chu Yansheng’s iron grip, but it was useless.

Du Lin stepped forward, ring in hand,

Then—

A figure bolted to the front of the stage.

The man wore a custom-tailored suit, tall and imposing.

With one hand braced on the chest-high stage, he vaulted onto it in one fluid motion, seizing Chu Yansheng's wrist.

At the same time, he shouldered Du Lin aside as he moved to slip the ring on Chu Mo, stopping his action.

Chu Yansheng and Du Lin stared in shock.

The man who'd stormed the stage was none other than Xie Songchen.

"He clearly doesn't want this engagement," Xie Songchen glared fiercely at Chu Yansheng, firmly shielding Chu Mo.

Xie Songchen panted heavily from adrenaline, his back rising and falling.

He was terrified that Chu Yansheng would lock Chu Mo away again.

Reporters were snapping photos frantically, camera flashes erupting like lightning.

The Chi family heir flipped a table.

Superstar Zhou Jingyan drenched himself in red wine.

Xie Songchen shoved through security to rush onto the stage.

Any one of these moments was headline-worthy.

Yet today, at Chu Mo’s engagement banquet, they all hit at once.

Chu Yansheng’s expression turned extremely grim: "You punk, we only invited you out of respect for your past position as a high-ranking employee of the Chu Group and your recent rise to prominence. What do you think you're doing now?"

Chu Yansheng had originally assumed that these alphas, including Xie Songchen, had long since moved on from Chu Mo.

He never expected Xie Songchen to make a move at this moment.

Chu Mo watched as Xie Songchen shielded him, caught in a surreal daze.

It was as if, at some point in the past, Xie Songchen had stood in front of him like this before.

Flooding him with security.

Unexpectedly, Chu Mo's tension melted away at this moment.

As long as Xie Songchen was here, it seemed he didn’t need to worry about anything.

Seeing Xie Songchen refuse to back down, Chu Yansheng drew back his fist.

Then, gasps rippled through the crowd.

Xie Songchen simply swept Chu Mo up bridal-style and, in front of everyone, carried him offstage.

Chu Mo felt weightless in his arms, his back and waist cradled by strong, firm arms.

The muscles of the other man’s arms gave Chu Mo a strange yet familiar sensation.

At some point in the past, Xie Songchen had held him like this before.

After driving away Xie Songchen and trying hard to make him give up, Chu Mo was sure he'd forgotten everything about Xie Songchen.

In the past six months, Chu Mo has been working hard every day and diligently researching special inhibitors.

He continues to play the role of an alpha as usual, following the routine.

Life has returned to stability.

Even when he occasionally sees news about Xie Songchen, Chu Mo feels that his choice was right.

He finally managed to fix the broken timeline.

Chu Mo thought Xie Songchen would forget him and go on to find an omega who matched him perfectly.

But to his surprise, not only did Xie Songchen attend his engagement party as invited, but he also rushed out to save him at a critical moment.

Xie Songchen held Chu Mo in his arms, pushing through the crowd, and brought him outside the hotel to a low-key black minivan.

Chu Yan Sheng shouted furiously from behind:

"What do you think you're doing?!"

By the time Chi Cheng and Zhou Jingyan reacted, the two had already vanished.

The car door closed, cutting off the noise outside.

Xie Songchen reached out to recline the seat, allowing Chu Mo to lie down, then took off his suit jacket and covered Chu Mo with it.

Then, Xie Songchen said to the driver, "Back to my apartment."

Watching Xie Songchen's non-stop activity, Chu Mo's first reaction was...

Relief.

Strangely, Chu Mo actually felt relief.

He felt relieved that Xie Songchen had his back today.

The engine started, leaving the cabin in silence.

After what felt like forever, Xie Songchen finally spoke to Chu Mo:

"So... don’t you have anything to say to me?"

At this moment, Chu Mo felt somewhat better.

He thought Xie Songchen was talking about the pheromone compatibility test machine.

So, Chu Mo straightened in his seat and opened his mouth, wanting to explain to Xie Songchen:

"About that test machine, I don't know... It might have malfunctioned..."

Chu Mo originally intended to tell Xie Songchen that the compatibility percentage might be wrong.

What are the odds? How could he and Xie Songchen have a 100% match?

Before getting tested at a professional hospital, this result was hard to believe.

However, Xie Songchen thought Chu Mo said this because he didn’t want questions about his gender.

"Save your explanations. I really don't care about that stuff."

Xie Songchen cracked open a bottle of water and handed it to Chu Mo.

Chu Mo hesitated briefly.

What did Xie Songchen mean by that? he wondered.

Thinking back to the past six months, Xie Songchen had never contacted him.

Chu Mo interpreted the words as:

Xie Songchen was telling him that they were now total strangers, so there was no need for Chu Mo to explain.

And "I don't care" meant that Xie Songchen no longer cared about him.

A sharp pang of loss surged in Chu Mo's heart.

Chu Mo knew he had no right to feel this way.

After all, he was the one who had cut off Xie Songchen's hopes.

He should let Xie Songchen pursue his own happiness.

Chu Mo lowered his eyes, his voice gone rough:

"Indeed, there's no need to explain."

Sitting beside Chu Mo, Xie Songchen went still for a second.

The next second, Xie Songchen's voice came from right beside Chu Mo's ear:

"I ruined your engagement party. Don't you have anything to say?"

Chu Mo flinched and turned to look at the man beside him: "What... should I say?"

Chu Mo saw Xie Songchen's profile—his strong brow line, his straight and high nose bridge.

Xie Songchen bit his lip. From the side, his throat worked visibly:

"What I mean is... if you regret it now, there's still time..."

"I don't regret it."

Before Xie Songchen could finish, Chu Mo cut in sharply.

Xie Songchen blinked in surprise.

Chu Mo's gaze swept over Xie Songchen's crisp white collar, past his Adam's apple, and finally settled on those angular features, familiar yet strange.

Xie Songchen seemed to have a tanned complexion now, radiating a more mature appeal.

If not for the wariness in his gaze when facing Chu Mo, he would have trouble believing this was the same secretary who used to buy him coffee.

Since their reunion, both had been holding back.

Even their conversation danced around the real issues.

Like gender, like what they'd been through the past six months, like Chu Mo's "so-called fiancée"...

Yet at this moment, as their eyes met, Chu Mo's heart skipped a beat.

After Xie Songchen matured, his narrow, single-lidded eyes radiated aggression and unpredictability.

When those eyes glanced at Chu Mo with a hint of caution, it sent Chu Mo spiraling into a whirlpool.

Dangerous thoughts surfaced in Chu Mo’s mind.

Or perhaps, it was just a side effect of his suppressants failing.

Chu Mo tried to push that sudden rush of feeling out of his mind.

The next second, he turned his head to look out the car window and mumbled under his breath,

"Since you hate me so much, why did you come to help today? Was it to rub your success in my face..."

Before he could finish,

Chu Mo’s jaw was caught in a large, burning hand.

Xie Songchen gripped him with his thumb and forefinger, preventing him from turning away.

"Where did you get the idea that I hate you?" Xie Songchen frowned, his tone growing urgent. "The newspapers? Websites? That's all clickbait nonsense written by reporters chasing KPIs. I've never said anything like that..."

Xie Songchen’s driver rarely saw his boss so agitated and couldn’t help stealing a glance in the rearview mirror.

Xie Songchen’s grip forced Chu Mo to turn back.

As he did, Xie Songchen, in his haste, leaned in too close—their noses just barely touched.

Chu Mo’s eyes widened instantly.

Xie Songchen froze as well.

The muscles in his forearm corded, veins standing out on his hand.

Yet his grip unexpectedly slackened.

Noticing this, Chu Mo attempted to retreat.

But he failed.

Xie Songchen abruptly tightened his grip again, his fingers shifting slightly forward to grasp Chu Mo’s chin.

By the time Chu Mo registered what happened,

those striking, aggressive monolids were suddenly inches from his own.

Xie Songchen seemed to want to do something but was fighting to hold back.

When they were close enough to share breath,

Chu Mo’s thoughts scattered in disarray.

A dozen thoughts raced through his mind.

Like—why was Xie Songchen’s nose so damn high?

Like—did he have a faint mole on his nose?

Like—why did Xie Songchen make monolids look this good? Not everyone could pull it off this well.

For example, Xie Songchen's lower lip looks eminently kissable, but do lips that look kissable actually taste good?

Just as Chu Mo’s last thought crossed his mind—

Xie Songchen sensed Chu Mo's gaze lingering on his lips.

Almost like he’d read Chu Mo’s mind.

Chu Mo’s eyes flew wide.

A heartbeat later—

Xie Songchen handed Chu Mo the answer—on his lips.