Chapter 40: Addicted

Lu Qingzhuo sat obediently in the bathtub, her body covered in snowy white bubbles from the shower gel. She was diligently massaging Fu Yumian’s back, her palm gliding smoothly down her soft, silky skin.

After rinsing off the foam with water, Lu Qingzhuo poured a bit of rose essential oil onto Fu Yumian’s back and started kneading again, her hands moving as she pulled a face full of exaggerated suffering.

“Harder,” Fu Yumian murmured, eyes closed as she leaned against the edge of the tub. Her voice was still hoarse, but her expression was one of complete satisfaction. “A little lower. Don’t just press the same spot.”

Lu Qingzhuo gritted her teeth, clearly reluctant, but her hands didn’t stop moving. Sometimes she really felt like she was part of the “cold-faced laundry squad”—those who silently endured doing intimate chores for someone they couldn’t say no to.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Fu Yumian slowly opened her eyes and glanced back at the alpha giving her a massage, her smile never leaving her face. “Did I upset you again?”

“How could President Fu ever upset me?” Lu Qingzhuo said coldly, her face blank, but the blush on her cheeks betrayed her. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?”

Alright. Fu Yumian could hear the sarcastic edge in her tone. She now knew—Lu Qingzhuo was actually mad.

But was her request really that unreasonable? There hadn’t even been a mark—she just asked for a little help… with her mouth. Why was she being so stingy?

“Okay, don’t be mad,” Fu Yumian said, turning around and gently holding Lu Qingzhuo’s left hand, her fingers brushing the ring she hadn’t taken off. She brought it to her lips and kissed it with a smile. “You said earlier you wanted a share of Fu Group. How much do you want? What’s your lucky number?”

“Two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine,” Lu Qingzhuo replied, deadpan. She stared straight at Fu Yumian and couldn’t help but ask, “Can President Fu afford that?”

Fu Yumian smirked. “Sure. I’ll call Han Tian right now…”

“Who wants your shares.” Lu Qingzhuo pursed her lips, clearly uninterested in continuing the conversation. “I don’t want to talk to you anymore. Go play with Han Tian instead.”

“You keep mentioning Han Tian. Don’t tell me… you like her?”

A shadow flickered across Fu Yumian’s eyes. 

Meanwhile, far away, Han Tian’s right eyelid suddenly twitched hard—as if she’d just narrowly missed knocking over her food bowl.

“Who I like has nothing to do with you,” Lu Qingzhuo said, rinsing off the rest of the foam. She grabbed a towel, dried herself off, and then wrapped herself tightly in a bathrobe, turning her back to Fu Yumian. “If there’s nothing else, I’m going. Xingluo’s waiting for me.”

“Where do you think you’re going?” Fu Yumian suddenly stood up in the tub. She grabbed the towel Lu Qingzhuo had just used and quickly dried her hair, then stepped out of the water and stood behind her, a gloomy expression shadowing her face. 

“Trying to cut ties with me? Have you forgotten we’re still legally married for the next two years?”

Lu Qingzhuo’s eyes widened slightly. It hit her only now—they were still legally married. Unless they went to court, she couldn’t just walk away.

“I don’t like it here. What you wanted… I already gave you.” Lu Qingzhuo’s neck stiffened, and she pressed her lips tightly together. “I just want to go home for a bit. Please let me go.”

Fu Yumian’s smile faltered for a moment. “It’s not just about not liking this place, is it?”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m just… not ready yet. I haven’t adjusted to the change in our relationship.”

Lu Qingzhuo’s lips turned down slightly, her inner conflict clear. Her voice softened, husky and low, with a sensual, almost pleading tone.

“President Fu, please let me go back. Let me think things over.”

There was a faint smile in Fu Yumian’s eyes, and the curve of her lips looked effortlessly perfect. “Since you put it that way, I’ll give you a few days to think it through.”

Lu Qingzhuo changed into a new set of clothes at Fu Yumian’s place. She caught a whiff of red wine lingering faintly in the fabric and guessed—if it wasn’t deliberately added—it must’ve been something Fu Yumian wore before.

What a terrifying Omega. So calculating. Just thinking about it made Lu Qingzhuo shiver, goosebumps rising on her arms.

The bow that had been tied around her neck had long since been tugged off during the chaos in the tub. 

Lu Qingzhuo gently touched her neck, which now bore several bite marks and love bites. Even the back of her neck felt sore to the touch.

Fu Yumian had bitten her while in a heightened, frenzied state the night before. Everyone knew it was Alphas who marked Omegas. She had never heard of an Omega biting an Alpha’s gland before.

Lu Qingzhuo ripped open the packaging of a pheromone-blocking patch and carefully stuck it over her neck gland. She got dressed, put on her shoes, grabbed her phone, and turned to leave.

The faint scent of pheromones lingered in the air of the villa. Lu Qingzhuo rubbed her nose and left without looking back.

From the third-floor balcony, Fu Yumian silently watched her departing figure. Only when Lu Qingzhuo had disappeared from view did she draw the curtains shut.

Lu Qingzhuo quickly hailed a car and fled back to the hotel. Just as she stepped into the main lobby, she ran into Geng Xingluo sitting anxiously near the entrance. At the sight of her, Geng Xingluo nearly burst into tears.

“Sister! If you hadn’t come back soon, I was about to call the police!”

Geng Xingluo hugged her tightly but paused when she caught a strong scent of Omega pheromones on Lu Qingzhuo’s body. It had that slightly tipsy red wine aroma—absolutely intoxicating.

Lu Qingzhuo dragged Geng Xingluo back to their room. The younger woman sat on her bed, playing with Ye Ye as the dog rolled around, and cuddled Oreo in her arms—the cat had grown big enough now to leap about on her own.

She saw Lu Qingzhuo rush to pack all the clothes in the wardrobe as soon as she returned, pulling out a suitcase and carefully packing them one by one.

"Sister, are we leaving now?"

Lu Qingzhuo packed away the toys for the cat and dog, leaving the bigger items to handle tomorrow. "Yes, we'll leave the island first thing tomorrow."

Geng Xingluo tilted her head and couldn’t help but ask, "Is my sister-in-law coming back with us?"

Lu Qingzhuo paused for a moment while packing. "She... She won’t be coming with us for now. She’s too busy with work to find the time."

"Sister-in-law is really working hard. It seems like she doesn’t have any siblings who can help her out," Geng Xingluo said, looking at Lu Qingzhuo’s back. "Sister, you really need to take care of her more."

Lu Qingzhuo sighed. "I know."

---

The next day, Lu Qingzhuo woke up early. The previous night, she had been torn over what to do and had decided to avoid things for a while. She would figure out what to do once the situation between the two of them calmed down.

Geng Xingluo put Ye Ye and Oreo, then took the suitcase from Lu Qingzhuo. "Sister, my injury is healed. Let me carry this."

After they boarded the plane, Lu Qingzhuo looked out the window at the island growing smaller in the distance, resting her chin on her hand and letting out a deep sigh.

But where was she supposed to go now?

Mingxia Manor was Fu Yumian's private property. If she went there, Fu Yumian would find her immediately. Besides, she just signed a contract with a new variety show, and running to a farther place wasn't a solution either.

Geng Xingluo, holding Ye Ye and Oreo, noticed Lu Qingzhuo frowning as her thoughts seemed to drift away. Suddenly, she felt worried. "Sister, what's wrong? You don’t look so good. Did something happen?"

"It’s nothing. I didn’t sleep well last night," Lu Qingzhuo said, rubbing her forehead. She sighed again. "Li... Mom has been taken into police custody, but this time really scared me."

"Sister, I don’t really want to live off-campus. My best friends now are my roommates, and I’m happy being with them."

"Then you won’t live off-campus."

Lu Qingzhuo prioritized Geng Xingluo above all else, as long as she didn’t make any unreasonable demands, like wanting to stay with Huang Mao forever; she was fine with whatever.

Lu Qingzhuo patted Geng Xingluo’s head and smiled. "As long as you like it, anything’s fine."

After dropping Geng Xingluo off at school, Lu Qingzhuo moved into a villa near B University. Although this place had once been Fu Yumian's property, Lu Qingzhuo had already signed the papers, and the house was now under her name.

She changed the combination on the lock and installed a few extra security cameras at the door, being extra cautious.

Once everything was done, she felt a little safer. She checked her phone—good, Fu Yumian hadn’t messaged her, and even Han Tian was silent.

Life alone was much more comfortable, Lu Qingzhuo thought as she lay on the couch and started playing a game. After a while, feeling bored, she went to the mini bar and opened a bottle of red wine.

---

Fu Yumian adjusted her glasses slightly, the light from the computer screen reflecting off them. She sat in her office, watching all of Lu Qingzhuo’s movements unfold on the screen.

She pushed her glasses up and stared at the idle Alpha on the screen before finally quitting the software to get to work.

Han Tian stood quietly behind Fu Yumian, her face expressionless, but her heart was in turmoil. It turned out that the cameras she had installed at Lu Qingzhuo’s villa were for this purpose.

Coincidentally, the villa Lu Qingzhuo now lived in was the last one to be fitted with cameras. Han Tian had bought so many cameras that she had ended up installing the remaining ones at the villa near B University, not even sparing the bathroom or the toilet.

Han Tian’s face turned pale, and she swallowed nervously, hoping Lu Qingzhuo wouldn’t realize the cameras had been installed by her. Otherwise, if Lu Qingzhuo whispered to Fu Yumian about it, Han Tian would be the one to suffer.

"Han Tian, how many cameras did you install in the villa?"

Han Tian shivered at the question, her mind racing. She decided to cut the number in half. "President Fu, about twenty."

Fu Yumian glanced at the number of cameras displayed in the top left corner of the software, a subtle smirk playing on her lips.

Fifty-three.

It seemed that Han Tian had installed every camera she could get her hands on.

Han Tian stood behind Fu Yumian, the faint chuckle making her feel a chill run down her spine. "President Fu, I just wanted to ask, if the madam finds out about all these cameras, what will we do?"

"If you don’t say anything, I won’t, and who else will know?"

Han Tian: "..."

Now she understood why Lu Qingzhuo couldn't wait to leave after finishing filming. Who wouldn’t run from a situation like this?

But clearly, Fu Yumian was a step ahead—Lu Qingzhuo could never outwit her.

---

Meanwhile, Lu Qingzhuo, still unaware, drank some red wine and began to feel a little tipsy. She lay on the couch, casually starting a movie when her phone rang.

"Damn it, Qingzhuo, why didn’t you tell me you were leaving? I was planning to treat you to a meal after your wrap-up."

Lin Zhiyu's voice was filled with frustration. Lu Qingzhuo lazily held the phone to her ear, her voice equally sluggish.

"Zhiyu, I have some urgent matters to handle. Can I treat you to ten meals instead?"

"That’s what you said." Lin Zhiyu's voice still carried some irritation, but she couldn’t help herself and asked, "Did your Alpha friend finally accept her Omega? Tell me about it!"

"No, she’s stubborn. She’d rather die than give in." Lu Qingzhuo suddenly sat up from the couch, crossing her long legs and pulling a pained expression. "And this topic is off-limits for now. My friend doesn’t want to talk about it anymore, so please stop asking."

"Okay, okay, I’ll do it your way. As long as you're happy."

Over there, Lin Zhiyu’s tone seemed somewhat dismissive, but Lu Qingzhuo didn’t pay attention to her. Instead, she stared at her phone screen with a furrowed brow, deeply engrossed. She didn’t even notice what Lin Zhiyu said afterward.

---

Far away in Manhattan, at an offline meeting, Fu Yumian opened the hidden software on her computer. Instantly, the entire living room of the villa appeared on the screen. She clicked the mouse to zoom in on Lu Qingzhuo’s phone screen, noticing that she was on a call with someone saved under the name "Lin Zhiyu."

Fu Yumian’s eyes narrowed slightly. Her fingers gently tapped the desk, and Han Tian, noticing her subtle movement, turned her head to look, intrigued.

"Well, look at this—she’s checking on her meal, and even when sleeping, President Fu has to open it to take a look. What a situation!"

Lu Qingzhuo is no fentanyl addict, yet it seems President Fu is quite hooked now, even worse than the junkies on the streets of Florida.

After the meeting ended, Fu Yumian stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the sunset over the Manhattan streets. Without Lu Qingzhuo's constant chatter beside her, it was quiet now, but the silence also brought a sense of emptiness.

"Han Tian, do you think I’ve been pushing her too hard?"

Han Tian, suddenly being addressed, shrugged her shoulders in surprise, her voice lacking confidence. "President Fu well, if you're happy with it..."

Fu Yumian pondered for a moment. "Do you think she doesn't like me enough?"

Han Tian didn’t answer immediately. She hesitated, carefully organizing her thoughts before speaking. "President Fu, I believe Madam will eventually be touched by your genuine feelings."

Life sometimes forces one to speak words they don’t believe and bow before their superior.

If she had the chance to start over, she swore she’d reduce the number of cameras. It would be a way of redemption for herself.

That evening, Fu Yumian lay in bed, opening the software and successfully locating Lu Qingzhuo's image among a sea of squares. It was a camera in the bathroom, capturing everything with a 360-degree view, offering a crystal-clear image.

Fu Yumian’s gaze fixed on the Alpha, who was undressing. As heavy breathing echoed, her fingers instinctively touched the gland at the back of her neck, and warmth slowly spread through her body.

Just watching was enough to stir up her sensitivity. It seemed the saying "taste the marrow" was indeed fitting here.

The initial experience with Lu Qingzhuo had been great. Though the latter had been reluctant at first and even considered it a temporary mark rather than a full one, what if it had been a true mark?

To be honest, before this, Fu Yumian never imagined this would happen to her.

The Alpha undressed quickly and casually, only in her absence would she act so casually. Fu Yumian’s curiosity intensified as she watched Lu Qingzhuo completely undress, her breathing growing hotter.

"Mmm..."

Without Lu Qingzhuo around, it was a real inconvenience.

Fu Yumian’s heat period was approaching in the next few days. She would either have to go back to the country to find Lu Qingzhuo or directly bring her to Manhattan. But from the signs, it seemed that Lu Qingzhuo was like a triggered cat—she couldn’t be touched directly.

Lu Qingzhuo stood before a full-length mirror, strolling around her bare body, admiring her abs. She was pleased with herself before turning on the music and soaking in the bathtub, completely unaware of the camera.

She sang as she scattered petals in the water, blissfully enjoying the fruit platter and bath, a true moment of indulgence.

Fu Yumian shut her eyes, biting her lip as she watched. After a while, she sighed deeply, wiping her long fingers with a tissue. Her gaze darkened.

So, this was the real Lu Qingzhuo. Most of what she had shown Fu Yumian was merely suppressed behavior, a facade.

For a moment, Fu Yumian couldn't help but laugh bitterly. Seeing Lu Qingzhuo acting so carefree made her revisit the reasons why Lu Qingzhuo rejected her.

It was clear now—she was tired of it.

Lu Qingzhuo had no place for her in her heart.

With her peach blossom eyes, smiling lips, flirtatious and irresponsible, it all made sense now.

Fu Yumian furrowed her brows, gripping her phone tightly. It seemed the creation of the golden chains would be moving up ahead of schedule.

---

When people have too much free time, they always want to find something else to do, and Lu Qingzhuo was no exception. After finishing her filming, she felt that life had become dreadfully boring.

For several days, without Fu Yumian around, Lu Qingzhuo didn’t even feel like interacting with others. Instead, she found herself worrying about Geng Xingluo’s love life.

Lu Qingzhuo picked up her phone and decided to bother her, asking if she liked any particular Alpha.

Geng Xingluo quickly responded: [No]

Lu Qingzhuo: [Be careful with the blond-haired guys. You're young and can easily be fooled. If you meet someone you like, let me help you judge them.]

Geng Xingluo sat at the back of a lecture hall, head down, typing her response while occasionally chuckling quietly, catching the attention of her two roommates.

Geng Xingluo: [Okay, I know you care about me. Do you think I’m someone who could be easily tricked by a blond-haired guy?]

While Lu Qingzhuo was chatting with Geng Xingluo, she received another message from Lin Zhiyu. Lu Qingzhuo exited the chat with Geng Xingluo and opened the new message to find a photo.

Who was this Alpha with blonde hair?

Lin Zhiyu: [Look at the hair I just dyed. Doesn’t it look amazing?]

Lu Qingzhuo’s hand froze on the phone, her fingers still on the screen. Her mouth twitched involuntarily.

It seemed her earlier advice to Geng Xingluo to be wary of blonde-haired people was spot on.

Lu Qingzhuo: [Why did you suddenly decide to dye your hair this color? Are you thinking of joining a girl group?]

Lin Zhiyu: [First, tell me if you think the color is nice.]

Lu Qingzhuo: "..."

She typed a few words and sent them.

[It looks great, looks amazing.]

Lin Zhiyu: "Tch, is it really that hard to not be so perfunctory?"

Lu Qingzhuo: "Let’s just block each other."

As soon as these three words appeared, Lin Zhiyu seemed to panic. She quickly typed again: "You don’t understand, the person who did my hair is a new employee, and they messed up the color. I’m planning to dye it green."

Lu Qingzhuo imagined Lin Zhiyu walking around with green hair in front of everyone and couldn't help but shudder.

Lu Qingzhuo: "Yellow hair looks pretty good, much better than green. The new employee has a good sense of aesthetics [thumbs up]."

This was great; her reminder for Geng Xingluo to stay away from yellow hair was gradually becoming more tangible.

---

In a Chinatown antique shop, Fu Yumian, who was selecting rings, casually opened an app. The first thing that popped up was a selfie of someone with yellow hair. After checking the note, it was the same person named "Lin Zhiyu"

How had Lu Qingzhuo gotten so close to her? And why was this person with yellow hair, peach blossom eyes, and a smile that seemed flirtatious, someone she’d even interact with? Fu Yumian couldn’t figure it out.

She zoomed in on the picture, feeling that the person in it looked somewhat familiar, like she had seen them before.

Behind her, Han Tian, who had come out shopping with the boss, whispered in Fu Yumian's ear, "Miss Fu, this Alpha in the photo is Madam’s childhood friend, Lin Zhiyu. I’ve looked up her information. Miss Fu, take a look."

"Good work," Fu Yumian said, two fingers pressing on her phone screen. "Peach blossom eyes, smile that shows dimples, she looks like a playgirl."

Han Tian struggled to connect the human descriptions together and, the more she thought about it, the more she felt this person seemed like Lu Qingzhuo.

She carefully glanced at the photo again, only to realize the person Fu Yumian mentioned was Lin Zhiyu.

A playgirl? Han Tian wasn’t sure about that, but if Lu Qingzhuo dared sneak around behind Fu Yumian’s back, perhaps her future fate would be like the plots in those domineering CEO stories where one gets locked up in a manor.

Fu Yumian casually flipped through Lin Zhiyu’s profile and saw that she was an Alpha with nothing too outstanding, scoffing in disdain.

But when she saw Lin Zhiyu's age, it suddenly reminded her of that day in the bathroom, when Lu Qingzhuo had called her an old pervert, making her wish she could turn back ten years.

---

That Friday afternoon, Lu Qingzhuo arrived at B University’s East Gate early to pick up Geng Xingluo, hoping to enjoy the quieter time with her. She had arrived a little early, and Geng Xingluo’s class didn’t finish until later, so Lu Qingzhuo sat in her car waiting for what felt like forever. Bored, she opened the window for some fresh air, and at that moment, the nearby street food stand began to open.

A delicious scent of food filled the air, and Lu Qingzhuo, sipping water, felt like it had no taste at all. Her eyes lingered on the food, her mouth watering with hunger.

More and more students lined up at the stand, and even a few female teachers in high heels were walking away with skewers.

Their figures were great, and the food stands were set up around the school, which suggested that a little indulgence wouldn’t hurt.

Holding her growling stomach, Lu Qingzhuo tried to convince herself, "No, you’re a big star. Big stars must manage their figures. No high-calorie, oily, or trans-fat foods allowed!"

---

When Geng Xingluo came out of the East Gate, she saw her tall, striking "big sister" standing in line at the food stand, holding an oil-paper bag of fried skewers and eating a grilled sausage.

She wasn’t wearing sunglasses but a mask. When she ate the grilled sausage, she removed the mask, and many Omega students around her were secretly taking photos.

Geng Xingluo smiled as she walked over. "Sister, what tasty food did you get for me?"

"You’re done with school so early?" Lu Qingzhuo, having finished her second sausage, felt guilty when she saw Geng Xingluo walking over. "This... the food at your school’s stand smells too good. I couldn’t resist and ate a little... just a little."

"Isn’t this Lu Qingzhuo?"

"She calls Lu Qingzhuo ‘sister.’"

"Isn’t that Geng Xingluo from the finance department?"

"What’s their relationship?"

"That Rolls-Royce must be Lu Qingzhuo’s. How come she’s so rich?"

"..."

Here we go again.

Lu Qingzhuo grabbed the two bags of food and walked off, with Geng Xingluo obediently following, then getting into the passenger seat of the Rolls-Royce.

"Sister, don’t you think we’re being a bit too showy? What if this affects you?"

Lu Qingzhuo couldn’t care less. "Ignore those gossips. We have our own lives, and there’s no need to hide our actions just to avoid judgment."

---

Fu Yumian sipped her coffee, a habit she had picked up from Lu Qingzhuo, who liked her coffee with sugar and milk. She had grown used to it, just because Lu Qingzhuo liked it that way.

Every day, Fu Yumian would check the hidden app, scrolling through it repeatedly. Recently, Lu Qingzhuo had been spending more time indoors, staying up later into the night.

Sometimes, when Fu Yumian woke up at three or four in the morning, she’d find Lu Qingzhuo still playing on her phone with the lights on, her face twisted into a grin that looked scarier than a ghost from a horror movie.

Usually, by that time, Lu Qingzhuo would be in the kitchen cooking or feeding the cat and dog. But today, Fu Yumian checked every corner of the villa, but Lu Qingzhuo hadn’t returned, and no one knew where she had gone.

Han Tian noticed Fu Yumian had been secretly checking on Lu Qingzhuo again and couldn’t resist pushing the computer screen toward her. "Miss Fu, look. Madam’s trending again, but it’s not a good trend."

#Lu Qingzhuo Suspected of Keeping a Young Omega College Student#

There were six or seven very clear photos of Lu Qingzhuo feeding a grilled skewer to an Omega woman, with her smile clearly visible.

There were pictures and videos.

Fu Yumian paused as she adjusted her glasses. After clearly seeing the side profile of the Omega female student, she helplessly rubbed her forehead and said, "Take down this trending topic."

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