When an Alpha is Marked by One of His Own Kind

Chapter 70

At an old-fashioned grilled fish shop-
Steam was still rising from the grilled fish that had just been served to a neighboring table. The lights that hung above every table illuminated the various side dishes, making them glisten.

Fresh leaves of lettuce. Snow white, thinly sliced tofu. Golden-brown baked potatoes. A full table of sides surrounded the fish, forming a varied array of colorful foods that were fragrant enough to make any diner salivate.

Shen Qiao got up and headed to the restroom. He checked their table number before he left, planning to pay their bill in advance on the way.

Lu Zhe watched him as he moved farther and farther away. Then he picked up Shen Qiao's bowl and chopsticks and helped scald them in hot tea to clean them. He moved a little clumsily, using only his uninjured arm.

Lu Qianshuang rarely ever saw her brother moving so awkwardly. She couldn't help but offer, "I... I'll do it, okay? Your arm is still recovering?"

Lu Zhe offered his own bowl and chopsticks to her as well. "Mm."

That was all he said. He didn't want to talk more about the matter. His dark eyes tracked Lu Qianshuang's moments for a while, before he suddenly asked, "Isn't school still in session? What are you doing out here?"

Logically speaking...

Lu Qianshuang should have just finished her college entrance exams. She should have been waiting at home for her college admissions results. Why had she suddenly come out to Hua City?

If it hadn't been for her phone call, Lu Zhe wouldn't have imagined she'd be in town at all.

Upon hearing that question, Lu Qianshuang looked over her shoulder to make sure Shen Qiao hadn't returned. She started prodding at the empty dishes with her chopsticks, looking a bit dejected and depressed.

"You haven't been home lately, so you probably don't even know... the old man's company seems to have run into some trouble. He was taken away for the investigation some time ago, and Mom has been crying all day and night over it.

"Plus, just a while back, an omega showed up at our place, holding a baby, saying the kid was the old man's spawn. She demanded financial support from us and refused to leave without money... everything's just a mess. I couldn't really stand it anymore, so I left.

"You aren't there to see it, so you don't know, but Mom and that woman got into a huge fight. Ugh, and now Mom is taking it out on everyone. She's always yelling at the staff, and she even berated me for no reason yesterday. I really couldn't stay in that chaotic place any longer, so I told her I was going on a graduation trip with my classmates...

"And that's how it is."

Lu Zhe's expression was bland. He didn't look all that surprised to hear all this. After listening to Lu Qianshuang's story, he lowered his gaze to the table. His lashes swept over his cheeks, casting shadows and catching the light from the overhead lamp.

After a while, he said, "Don't bring this up to Qiaoqiao."

"I know, I know, you've told me a hundred times-" After scalding the dishes and chopsticks, she started listing all the warnings Lu Zhe had repeatedly issued her, ticking them off on her fingers. "Don't let Qiaoqiao know about our troubles at home, don't let my pheromones out in front of him, don't disrupt his life..."

Once she finished, she propped her head up on her hands and heaved a heavy sigh. "Ge, you're such a nag. You're worse than Mom."

Lu Zhe smiled serenely and gently asked, "Would you like a spanking?"

Lu Qianshuang pushed Lu Zhe's bowl and chopsticks back to his side of the table and stuck her tongue out at him. Then, she seriously warned, "Please remember to maintain your image when you're outside. Otherwise, if passersby see you, tomorrow's headlines are all going to be about DG's captain bullying a weak girl."