XU WUTAO
It's the Z-Gen Alpha from that night!
It's the Z-Gen Alpha from that night!
It's the Z-Gen Alpha from that night!
I repeated in my head as I dashed down the corridor, towards my room. My heart thumped in my chest.
Did he recognize me?
Surely, he would've said something if he did. Or what if he was playing some game with me? Nah… He'd be too disgusted finding out he did the nasty with a Z-Gen Omega, to think of playing games in that situation.
I let out a breath. It was a good thing I played the 'dumb and helpless' role so well. Got my sister to excuse me from that situation quicker. Who knew how long I would've stayed there with them, otherwise. And with sticky hair, still dripping with milk!
I shuddered.
The lock to my door clicked and I turned the handle, shuffling into the room. I immediately headed for the bathroom, shrugging off my clothes and taking a thorough shower.
I stepped out after about thirty minutes, smelling like lavender from the shower gel I bought some time ago to mimic my sister's scent—though, I came to realize no artificial scent could ever come close—.
I rubbed my hair with the towel, —flinching when I touched the area that hit the island earlier— and smelled it. The milk scent was gone. Thank goodness! Shrugging on some new clothes, I went to sit on my bed, my mind running with a million thoughts.
Somehow, I had this lingering feeling that I was overlooking something very major… Then the horrible realization dawned on me.
An outsider just saw me.
Oh!
I stood up immediately, pacing around the room. The implication of the situation weighing heavily on me. Gradually, my heart rate began to spike up.
Breathe in, breathe out.
"This is where you'll stay for the rest of your existence. If you so much as let anyone— outside of this family— see you…" My father's voice screamed in my memory
Well… Well, Maybe he didn't realize what I was. I thought as I brought my nails between my teeth.
Seriously?! You're as scrawny as chop sticks and white as a drawing sheet. Who wouldn't realize what you are at first glance? This is a whole Z-Gen Alpha were talking about. Not to mention, you weren't exactly found in the most 'normal' situation.
Oh!
Breathe in, breathe out.
I couldn't swallow. Rather, the contents of my stomach were begging to come up.
Breathe in, breathe out.
My hands began to shake. They were wet. I passed a hand through my hair and grabbed a fistful.
"Do you understand me?! No one is to ever see you. Or else, I'm selling you to the catchers!"
The corners of my eyes pricked with tears.
How could I let this happen? I was always so careful. Always made sure I found out who was visiting, and when they were visiting.
Why did I slip up this time? Why?!
Breath in, breathe— Fucking breath in!!!
I dropped to the cold floor of my room. The tears poured down my face, and I hugged my knees.
Was it all over?
Is this the end?
Just then, I heard a knock. Or I thought I heard a knock. I quickly wiped my face, as I listened for it again.
Knock knock! There it was again. Before I could panic, I noticed the lavender scent. Which wasn't coming from my shower gel. I sat up straight and released a shaky breath to clear any signs of my crying.
"Wutao, open up! It's Meilin."
What was she doing here?
Quickly, I looked around my room. A different type of panic threatening to take over. All important items were safely tucked away. My phone, my gadgets… My sketch items.
Breathe in, breathe out. You're fine.
I sunk my head, grateful to be in a hoodie. I covered my whole head with the hood, pulling the strings, so that only a small opening remained for my eyes. Even then, I pulled some of my hair to cover the space.
Then I sagged my shoulders, painfully dragging my feet to the door. I turned the key, and it unlocked with a click.
My Jie stood there with a long pout on her angelic face. She looked so beautiful in her blue floral dress, and white heels. Sometimes I couldn't help but envy her a bit. Just a little bit. At least, she wasn't expected to hide from the whole world.
She said nothing about my appearance. In fact, she didn't seem to see anything off about it. I said a thankful prayer.
"Wutao" she called, and I blinked back to the present. "I'm so sorry!" She declared, suddenly enveloping me in a hug. I staggered backwards from her unexpected weight.
"J-J-Jie?" I was confused. Why was she apologizing?
She sniffled. "I shouldn't have brought him to the kitchen" Was she crying? Why was she crying? I was the one in deep shif, not her. I stood there awkwardly as she soaked my top. Yaayyy… More dirty laundry for me!
Then she raised her head to stare at me. "I should've been more careful. I know 12:00 to 01:30 is your lunch time. I just… you haven't been coming for food lately, so I didn't think you'd be there today." She rambled on.
And yet, I'll be the one to get punished. I thought and rolled my eyes when she wasn't looking.
I shifted uncomfortably from how tightly she was holding me. I guess she got the hint, because she finally released me.
She then moved to sit on my bed, tapping the space beside her. Jie wasn't exactly mean to me, unlike my brothers. She was actually nice. She checked on me, every now and then—although it sometimes felt more like monitoring—but were we on 'sitting beside each other on my bed' terms?
Definitely not! Not since that almost fatal incident with my brothers.
She didn't see my confused frown, because it was covered by my hood, but it was there. Permanently etched on my forehead, since her hug.
I slowly wriggled my way to the bed, sitting in the space she patted. We sat in silence for a while, before she spoke again. Her face was dry now.
"Don't worry, Baba won't find out." That got my attention. I whipped my head in her direction, wincing at the click sound that resulted. She nodded in confirmation. "I got that sorted out…" almost sounding like she was trying to convince herself.
Then her eyes popped when she remembered something. "My gosh, I even called you a stray!" She covered her face with her hand in shame. Relief flooded my chest. Not from the fact that she was ashamed. Because I managed to escape punishment.
Then she turned to me "Your Jie is such a bitch huh?" Again, I blinked. I didn't even think she knew any bad words. Then she chuckled. "I'm sorry okay? Will you forgive me? Please forgive me… Hmmm" She grabbed my hand, shaking it and pulling the saddest puppy face.
I nodded my head… Of course I did. Because, shit! I didn't even think I was going to get to sleep in my bed tonight. Her lips spread into the widest smile I'd ever seen.
"Great!"
Now that she was in a good mood, I wondered if I could get her to talk about the man from earlier. I brought my voice to a low volume. How do I start even? I went with the first thing that came to mind.
"Z-Z-Z-gen Alpha…"
Her brow immediately quirked. "The man from earlier?" She asked, and I nodded.
"Lang gao. We'll be engaged soon." Her face lit up like the sun, her eyes looking a bit dazed as she stared into the... distance?
Somehow, the news didn't sit well with me. I didn't know why, but I wasn't happy. So I asked the first question that came to mind. "You love… you love each other?" Why did my heart thump as I waited for her answer?
She took her precious time, then she nodded. "Uh huh." I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding. "I've been in love with him since high school. He gave me flowers on our first encounter." She added proudly. I nodded slowly. "Lang gao and I…" She suddenly paused, sending me a sad look.
"Look at me talking to you about love. I must be boring you with all the details." No you're not. I wanted to say, but settled on silence instead. She chuckled. She gave my back a little rub, then stood up.
"I'll leave you to rest, Wutao." I only nodded in response. With one last smile my way, she exited the room. I waited till the click of her heels totally disappeared, before rushing to lock the door.
Quickly, I pulled open the string of my hoodie, taking in a deep breath of fresh air, after my nose was finally set free. I dropped on my bed with a grin.
I could finally rest easy.
No one was coming for me. I wasn't leaving this place anytime soon.
I wasn't leaving this place anytime soon… I blinked at my ceiling. The grin slowly disappeared from my face. My heart slowly sank.
I wasn't leaving this place anytime soon…
I immediately sat up as a bulb lit up in my mind. I ran to my wardrobe, pulling it open.
I quickly dug out my backpack, fishing out my phone. I pressed the power button waiting for the screen to turn on. Then tapped on the the search engine app, immediately going to the search bar.
I typed in the words ringing in my head.
'Lang Z-gen Alpha'