I Pretended to Be an Omega to Hook My Love Rival - Chapter 3

[The protagonist gong can’t even hide that icy, murderous look.]

[Run, supporting male. No matter how far you run, you’ll never escape the male lead’s palm.]

[I’m dying. Is he flat-footed? He keeps slipping whenever he runs.]

[No way. I saw the photos he sent the protagonist gong. His feet are a little large, but they’re practically works of art—so pale, perfect arches. And that waist-to-hip ratio! One slender, one perky. If he stopped courting death, he’d be wonderfully shippable.]

[You upstairs are truly starving—and remarkably observant.]

I could die of humiliation. I’d thought those photos existed only to lure Xi Yan into my trap. I never imagined countless spectators had been watching from somewhere beyond my knowledge.

Dear merciful heavens, just send down lightning and finish me.

Dejected, I raked my hair into a bird’s nest and went to our usual place in the library: a table beside the top-floor windows.

The sunlight was beautiful. Qiao Shu was beautiful.

The Alpha across from him was an eyesore.

I knew him. Shen Juanzhou was a notorious playboy among rich second-generation heirs, another dominant Alpha who usually traveled with Xi Yan. His nickname was “the perfect three-week boyfriend.” No one ever lasted three full weeks with him before getting dumped. Countless Omegas had had their hearts broken.

Had this punk set his sights on Qiao Shu?

I would never let him succeed.

I marched over in full battle mode, fixed Shen Juanzhou with a stare, and naturally draped one arm over Qiao Shu’s shoulders.

Lowering my head tenderly, I asked, “Darling, who’s the gentleman across from you?”

Qiao Shu blinked his soft, pretty eyes and shook his head. “A student from the class next door. Maybe everywhere else was full.”

Smiling sweetly, he tugged my arm and pointed to the chair beside him. “Sit here. I saved it for you.”

Nonsense. One look at the way Shen Juanzhou watched him told me his intentions weren’t pure.

The sight of any Alpha near Qiao Shu triggered me. My defenses went up. Even while studying, I deliberately pressed close, our heads touching and our legs side by side. I pretended not to understand one problem after another and kept asking Qiao Shu for help. He noticed nothing strange and patiently explained everything.

I shot Shen Juanzhou a challenging look, hoping he would mistake us for a couple and leave on his own.

Instead, he wasn’t looking at us at all. He stared toward the entrance and raised a hand in greeting.

I turned instinctively, my breath brushing Qiao Shu’s cheek. For a moment I stared at the face inches away and the fine, pale-gold fuzz upon it. I badly wanted to kiss him.

Suddenly, a hand appeared between my mouth and Qiao Shu’s cheek.

I looked up. Xi Yan stood over us with lowered lids and a savage edge to his face.

“Flirting in a library is hardly appropriate.”

I turned to stone.

Why was Xi Yan here too?!

Qiao Shu belatedly set down his half-finished calculus problem and laughingly pushed me away. “I was wondering why my cheek suddenly itched. Goldfish, you crossed the line again. Keep it up and I won’t sit beside you anymore.”

Damn it. Why did those two always unite against me the moment they met? My teeth itched with anger. I regretted not biting Xi Yan’s hand when it touched my mouth. What a loss.

Xi Yan withdrew his hand and sat opposite me. He didn’t study. One moment he played on his phone, the next he examined his palm with intense concentration, and then he looked up to stare at me.

Unnerving. The comments made it worse.

[The supporting male’s filthy mouth touched the protagonist gong’s palm. He must be revolted. He probably wants to scrub it with disinfectant.]

[The protagonist gong is far too polite. Even jealous, he holds his temper. Our sweet little Qiao deserves such a good husband.]

[…Am I the only one who thinks the protagonist gong wants to lick his own palm right now?]

[Yes. You’re the only one.]

Forget you people being grossed out. I wanted to disinfect my lips too.

Damn it. Skin-to-skin contact between two Alphas felt horrible. Goose bumps covered me, and the nerves in my lips had become unbearably sensitive. My mouth kept feeling wrong—dry one moment, itchy the next. I wanted desperately to scratch it, but feared drawing attention.

At last I couldn’t stand it and quickly ran my tongue over my lips.

Much better.

When I raised my head, that lunatic Xi Yan was staring darkly, as if he wanted to devour me.

Who had offended him? Couldn’t the young master take his rich friends somewhere glamorous instead of sitting here not studying?

So annoying.

Unable to help myself, I glared at him, then angrily buried my head in my workbook.

Halfway through a problem, someone kicked my foot. Probably an accident. I silently drew my leg back and glanced at Xi Yan.

He had borrowed a book and was leafing through it in boredom. When I saw the title, I secretly gave him a thumbs-up—inverted.

The punk was reading *How to Make the Person You Love Fall for You*.

Who was he trying to hint at?

I looked at Qiao Shu. Sure enough, he was immersed in his studies and paying attention to no one. I relaxed.

He looked particularly lovely when he concentrated, and I accidentally watched a little too long.

Someone kicked my shin.

That one was definitely deliberate.

I whipped around and glared at Xi Yan. He was expressionless, the corners of his mouth turned down in obvious displeasure.

What was his problem?

The comments began shipping them again.

[I’m dying. The supporting male looks at his wife for one extra second and the protagonist gong gets jealous. He loves him way too much.]

[? But the protagonist gong and shou barely know each other. He only noticed the shou because he realized the shou’s pheromones didn’t trigger his allergy.]

[What do you know? This is an ABO world. Destined mates beat everything!]

[Just wait until heat or rut. Then you’ll understand how wonderful it is.]

[Are destined mates in love, though, or are pheromones controlling them?]

[Both, probably. You can’t exactly say only an Alpha-Alpha couple fighting their mutual pheromone rejection counts as true love.]

I clenched my marker so hard I nearly tore the workbook.

Xi Yan had been dating me online yesterday and was still calling me honey in his texts today. Yet before he and Qiao Shu had even established a relationship, he was already this possessive? One glance at Qiao Shu and he kicked me. Wouldn’t he beat me to death later?

I finally believed the comments completely. Maybe Xi Yan and Qiao Shu really were those so-called destined mates.

If Xi Yan learned that I’d declared him my number-one rival merely because Qiao Shu had looked at him a few times—and then pretended to be an Omega and dated him online to eliminate any chance between them—he probably would dump me at sea.

Grief welled up. I no longer dared get angry. Silently, I pulled both feet beneath my chair and decided that next time I would persuade Qiao Shu to study on another floor.