Fifteenth Day of Pretending to Be an Alpha

Five minutes later, Chu Mo’s inbox received a forwarded email from Xie Songchen. The sender was the president of Yunchi Group, Chi Cheng. Chu Mo glanced at the email content, feeling puzzled. He remembered that in the original novel, Chi Cheng was someone who couldn’t even write a work email. Why was he suddenly sending him a work email? Could it be that Chi Cheng was starting to work hard for love?

Although, in Chu Mo’s opinion, this didn’t really count as a work email.

Just then, Xie Songchen entered, handing Chu Mo a neatly organized schedule.

“Just leave it on the table,” Chu Mo said without looking up.

After placing the schedule down, Xie Songchen didn’t leave. Chu Mo felt a pair of cold eyes staring at him, sending a shiver down his spine. He looked at Xie Songchen, whose face was cold enough to freeze over.

“Didn’t you say,” Xie Songchen looked at Chu Mo, questioning word by word, “that you went to sleep after finishing work last night?”

Chu Mo first showed a confused expression, then suddenly realized. He glanced at the email from Chi Cheng, feeling awkward and unsure how to explain.

The office fell into silence. After a while, Chu Mo coughed and said nonchalantly, “Last night’s story is long, and besides, I’m your boss. I don’t have to report these things to you.”

Last night’s events involved pheromone imbalance, and Chu Mo didn’t want anyone to know.

Xie Songchen silently stared at Chu Mo for a moment. Confirming that Chu Mo didn’t intend to explain, Xie Songchen hid his emotions. He didn’t say anything further, his lips pressed into a thin line, and then turned to leave.

Chu Mo thought that Xie Songchen was upset about the unanswered message and didn’t take this small matter to heart.

In the afternoon, Chu Mo had an important meeting. Before the meeting, as usual, Xie Songchen brought Chu Mo a cup of coffee. Chu Mo took a sip and almost spat it out—it was espresso. 

Chu Mo’s public persona was that of an Alpha CEO who only drank espresso. 

Recently, the coffee prepared by Xie Songchen had been lattes. He had almost forgotten what espresso tasted like. If Chu Mo hadn’t reacted quickly, he might have blown his cover with that sip.

Chu Mo calmly put down the cup. He glanced at the instigator, who was calmly working on his laptop, as if the matter had nothing to do with him. Chu Mo looked at Xie Songchen’s indifferent expression, unable to determine if this was an oversight or intentional.

A strong intuition told Chu Mo that it was likely intentional on Xie Songchen’s part. Was it really necessary to act like this just because he didn’t reply to a message? Chu Mo wondered to himself.

For the next two days, the coffee prepared by Xie Songchen for Chu Mo was all espresso. Chu Mo was at his wit’s end. Why was Secretary Xie acting this way? Chu Mo wanted to ask Xie Songchen to switch back to lattes, but due to his persona, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

So, Chu Mo tried various indirect ways to hint to Xie Songchen. For example, while drinking coffee, he casually said, “This coffee tastes different from before.”

But Xie Songchen just glanced at him and coldly said, “Li Shuo told me not to buy lattes.”

Chu Mo: “…”

He could only pretend to be satisfied and said, “Indeed, I’m not used to lattes. Switching back to espresso is good.”

Seeing the barely touched coffee in Chu Mo’s cup, Xie Songchen said expressionlessly, “Then drink more.” With that, he left with a cold face.

Chu Mo was stunned, his eyes widening—why was this kid still unhappy? Shouldn’t the one unhappy be him, the one forced to drink espresso?

Chu Mo didn’t have time to think too much. New plot tasks were coming one after another. 

Ever since Dingming and Shengmo reached a cooperation on the system development project, Zhou Ming had been personally following up on the project. 

Today, Zhou Ming sent an invitation to the Shengmo team responsible for the project, including Chu Mo. He invited them to a resort developed by Dingming to discuss the project’s progress and details.

The Shengmo team didn’t expect Zhou Ming to value this project so much. Only Chu Mo knew what Zhou Ming was up to. In the original novel, Zhou Ming had a crush on Chu Yun. 

After the cooperation with Shengmo, Zhou Ming learned that Xie Songchen and Chu Yun had a 100% compatibility rate. So, filled with jealousy, Zhou Ming wanted to use the dinner to humiliate Xie Songchen.

Chu Mo also appeared in this plot, playing the role of someone who added insult to injury.

On the day of the dinner, Chu Mo brought Xie Songchen and others to the appointment. The two barely spoke on the way. Because of the unanswered message, Xie Songchen’s attitude towards Chu Mo was very cold.

Inside the resort, clear fountains gushed from intricately carved stones, surrounded by expensive ancient trees, and even a vineyard. As soon as Zhou Ming saw Chu Mo, he enthusiastically approached, “President Chu, long time no see.”

Zhou Ming’s hair was neatly slicked back, his skin fair, and his eyes sharp, exuding an elite aura. Chu Mo, on the other hand, was completely different. 

The moment Chu Mo walked into the estate, he seemed like the owner—young, handsome, and noble. All the words fitting a wealthy young master could be used to describe him.

“President Zhou,” Chu Mo greeted with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “Thank you for the invitation.”

In business, there are no permanent enemies. Chu Mo and Zhou Ming acted as if nothing had happened between them before. Standing aside, Xie Songchen showed no expression, and no one dared to speak to him lightly.

Zhou Ming briefly greeted Xie Songchen, who only nodded indifferently. “President Chu, your secretary still has quite the temper,” Zhou Ming said with a half-smile, “You’re really good to him, letting him stay at Shengmo.”

Hearing Zhou Ming’s sarcastic tone, Xie Songchen’s brow furrowed slightly. During the subsequent project progress report, Xie Songchen performed even more skillfully than last time. Zhou Ming appeared to be listening to Xie Songchen speak, but Chu Mo knew his intentions were elsewhere.

In the original novel, after the meeting, Zhou Ming suggested playing games at the estate. One of the games was archery. Archery has a high learning cost, not something an average family can afford. Zhou Ming wanted to use this to flaunt his elite status.

In the novel, Zhou Ming, out of jealousy, deliberately invited Xie Songchen to compete in archery, confident that Xie Songchen had never learned it, intending to mock him and prove himself the superior Alpha. Chu Mo stood by, joining Zhou Ming in mocking Xie Songchen, waiting to see him embarrassed.

However, to everyone’s surprise, not only could Xie Songchen shoot, but his archery skills completely crushed Zhou Ming’s. 

After several rounds, Xie Songchen led by a large margin, nearly hitting ten points every time. Xie Songchen’s actions not only humiliated Zhou Ming but also embarrassed Chu Mo, who was gloating.

Chu Mo hadn’t expected that Zhou Ming would not only fail to trouble Xie Songchen but also give him a chance to shine, leaving Chu Mo fuming. 

In a fit of anger, Chu Mo personally stepped in, wanting to defeat Xie Songchen. The result was predictable—he was soundly defeated by Xie Songchen, losing face in front of the employees.

Soon, after both teams discussed the project progress, Zhou Ming indeed suggested playing “games” there. The first “game” was archery. 

Hearing this, Chu Mo seized the opportunity to “humiliate” Xie Songchen. He looked at the people around him, mocking, “An Alpha like you probably never touched archery, right?”

Xie Songchen showed no reaction to Chu Mo’s words, only giving him a sidelong glance. It seemed that Xie Songchen hadn’t realized this was Zhou Ming’s “Hongmen Banquet.”

Chu Mo’s gaze swept between the two, anticipating a dramatic scene. It should be quite entertaining. Chu Mo couldn’t help but smile.

Zhou Ming led the group to the estate’s rooftop. On the rooftop, several servants had already set up targets and thoughtfully prepared archery tools. 

Just as Chu Mo was looking forward to Zhou Ming and Xie Songchen clashing, Zhou Ming’s gaze turned to Chu Mo. He suddenly smiled gently and said, “President Chu, would I have the honor to compete with you?”

Chu Mo was holding a wine glass, elegantly swirling it, maintaining his Alpha CEO persona. Zhou Ming’s words caught him off guard. “What?” Chu Mo asked, forgetting to maintain his “elegant.jpg” image, “You want to compete with me? Are you sure?”

Chu Mo had learned archery, but he had only just picked up the skill, and his technique was certainly far inferior to Xie Songchen and Zhou Ming. If he competed with Zhou Ming, he would surely lose.

Zhou Ming nodded seriously. Then, looking directly into Chu Mo’s eyes, he repeated, “May I?”

The original novel didn’t specify how many people Zhou Ming had competed with in archery. To avoid any unexpected plot developments, Chu Mo frowned and said to Zhou Ming, “If you want to compete with me, you should first beat my secretary.”

With that, Chu Mo looked at Xie Songchen, giving him a meaningful glance, hoping he would understand. However, Xie Songchen looked at Chu Mo and slowly said, “I don’t know how to shoot.”

Leaving Chu Mo with a bewildered expression. Chu Mo hadn’t expected Xie Songchen to outright refuse to compete with Zhou Ming.

“You don’t?” Chu Mo’s eye muscles twitched uncontrollably, “Are you joking?”

“Why,” Xie Songchen retorted confidently, “is there a rule that says being your secretary means I have to know archery?”

Xie Songchen’s expression was calm. Intuition told Chu Mo that Xie Songchen wasn’t unable to shoot but was being stubborn. 

Just as Chu Mo was fretting over how to steer the plot back on track, Zhou Ming looked at Chu Mo, a smile playing on his lips, and raised the stakes for the competition: “President Chu, if you win, I’ll give you a surprise; if you lose…”

At this point, Zhou Ming’s eyes held a deeper meaning. “I hope to occupy one of your weekend days.”

Chu Mo let out an “ah,” his head full of question marks. What was Zhou Ming talking about? Occupy his weekend?

Beside him, having just refused Chu Mo, Xie Songchen’s expression suddenly stiffened.