Top-Tier Omega: Chasing Alpha to the Crematorium – Chapter 12
by Little PandaMing Yu’s Past
Such a blatant provocation infuriated Ming Yu, and she was on the verge of lashing out.
But under the assault of the pheromones, her body was limp, her face flushed, and she could barely stand. Song Qingpei, however, didn’t even spare her a glance, ignoring her disheveled state as she took two quick steps back.
This was clearly a chance to vent her own dissatisfaction!
By the time Ming Yu’s breathing had calmed, Butler Su was leading Song Song over.
Butler Su was perceptive. Seeing Ming Yu’s foul mood, he immediately said, “Admiral, perhaps I should take the Little Miss downstairs to wait for you.”
“No need. We’re leaving now,” Ming Yu said sharply.
She habitually strode forward, but after just one step, her trembling legs nearly gave way, a stark reminder of her recent humiliation.
Ming Yu paused, hardening her heart. She would make Song Qingpei pay for this when she got back.
Even after she had brought Song Song into the vehicle, the tide of heat that had been stirred within her had yet to recede, making her look frighteningly cold.
Beside her, Song Song studied her cautiously. She suddenly found the Mommy before her a little scary, like a two-faced person from television. She was nice to her, but when she got angry, she was truly terrifying!
Mama is better, Song Song thought to herself.
Completely unaware she had just received a black mark in her daughter’s heart, Ming Yu was still cluelessly trying to lecture her. “Songsong, if your mama pretends to be pitiful again, don’t believe her. She’s lying to you…”
“Don’t you say bad things about Mama!”
Song Song huffed, “You’re the liar. Your gentle act is all fake. You’re really a big, bad-tempered T-rex.”1
“Who taught you to say that?”
Seeing her mother’s face darken again, Song Song became even more convinced that the big, bad-tempered T-rex had bullied her mama, which was why Mama was homesick and unhappy.
Bad Mommy!
“Hmph, I’m not talking to you anymore.”
After shouting, she whipped her little head around, half-sprawled on the seat with her bottom pointedly facing Ming Yu.
Ming Yu’s face was stern. “Songsong, sit properly.”
But the little girl had quite a temper and had no intention of indulging her. When she said she wouldn’t talk, she meant it, stubbornly presenting Ming Yu with her back and refusing to turn around.
With absolutely no experience in placating children, Ming Yu could only let her be. Mother and daughter fell into a strange standoff, a battle of wills.2
Ming Yu: She’s just a child. She’s angry. She should be over it in a little while.
Song Song: Bad Mommy. She’s not even trying to coax me. Mama would be kissing and hugging me by now. Wuwuwu~
She was angry. The kind of angry that couldn’t be coaxed away.
When they reached their destination, Ming Yu took the initiative and reached out to carry Song Song, but the girl dodged with a pout. She stubbornly marched her little legs out of the vehicle and, like a little tail, did her best to follow behind Ming Yu with a pitter-patter of steps.
Ming Yu sighed in resignation and slowed her pace.
Song Song followed, panting, complaining aggrievedly in her heart. Wuwuwu~
This place is so big, even bigger than where we live.
She was so tired she was about to cry. Just as she was getting angry enough to plop down on the ground, she was suddenly lifted up, her legs dangling and kicking in the air.
“Let go of me! Let go of me!”
“Bad Mommy! I’m not talking to you!”
Ming Yu supported her little bottom and held her close, her voice softening helplessly. “Alright, Songsong, stop making a fuss. I’m taking you to see your great-grandmother.”3
“Songsong isn’t making a fuss! You said bad things about Mama!” Song Song’s cheeks were puffed out. “I’m mad, very mad!”
Not wanting her to continue the tantrum, Ming Yu could only ask helplessly, “Then what will make Songsong not mad anymore?”
Song Song’s face was serious. “You’re not allowed to say bad things about Mama anymore!”
Although she was deeply unhappy that Song Song was so protective of Song Qingpei, the little girl was just too stubborn. Ming Yu could only agree verbally.
Only then did a smile return to Song Song’s face. “Okay, I forgive you. Let’s go see that Great-what’s-her-name…”
“Great-grandmother.”
With that, Ming Yu carried Song Song toward the Lakeheart Courtyard of the Ming Family Ancestral Home.
She had been raised by her grandmother. Her grandmother cherished quiet, and after growing older, she had moved into the Lakeheart Courtyard. Whenever Ming Yu returned to Planet Lan, she would find time to visit.
Just as they reached the edge of the Artificial Lake, as Ming Yu was about to board the boat, a voice stopped her.
“Ming Yu, you’re home. Why didn’t you come to see me?”
The newcomer was none other than Ming Yu’s mother, Yao Qianrou. She was dressed lavishly, her makeup exquisite. She looked young at first glance, but it couldn’t hide the faint lines at the corners of her eyes and brows.
Ming Yu’s brow furrowed slightly. She had hoped to avoid her, but she had run into the person she least wanted to see.
Despite her displeasure, she still managed a respectful tone. “Mom.”
“Mm.”
Yao Qianrou responded faintly, her eyes falling on Song Song in Ming Yu’s arms. “Is this the daughter you gave birth to?”
“Yes. I’m taking Song Song to see Grandma first.”
Ming Yu offered a brief explanation and tried to leave with Song Song.
Yao Qianrou stopped her again, her voice sharp with displeasure. “Ming Yu, what kind of attitude is this? You bring this illegitimate daughter with no name or status home without a word; you don’t even tell me about something so important. Do you even have any respect for me, your mother?”
At her words, Ming Yu’s face instantly fell. “Mom, I’ve already spoken with Grandma.”
“Are you trying to anger me to death?” Yao Qianrou retorted shrilly. “I’m your mother. If I don’t agree, it doesn’t matter if your grandmother agrees.”
Ming Yu let out a cold laugh. “Mom, don’t forget, you also relied on me being an illegitimate daughter with no status to get where you are.”
“You…”
The words clearly struck a nerve. The expression on Yao Qianrou’s face turned vicious, twisting her beautifully maintained features.
“Grandma is still waiting for me. I’ll be going now.”
With that, Ming Yu turned and boarded the boat, holding Song Song.
Yao Qianrou was seething. “Ming Yu, you cruel, ungrateful thing!4 I carried you for ten months and gave birth to you. I did everything I could to make you the Ming Family heir, and now that your wings have hardened,5 you dare to disrespect me like this?”
Her shrewish6 display frightened Song Song, who burrowed into Ming Yu’s arms, whispering, “Mommy.”
“Don’t be scared, Songsong. It’s alright. Mommy will protect you.”
Ming Yu held Song Song tighter and snapped in a low voice, “That’s enough. Stop putting on an act in front of me! You know best what you’ve done!”
“You, you, you…”
Yao Qianrou was so angry she could only sputter the word “you,” unable to form a coherent sentence.
Unwilling to engage with her further, Ming Yu turned and ordered, “Start the boat. Don’t keep Grandma waiting.”
“Yes.”
She then sat down with Song Song in her arms as the boat headed toward the center of the Artificial Lake, never once looking back.
Yao Qianrou trembled with rage, but there was nothing she could do.
The Artificial Lake wasn’t large, and the small boat soon reached the shore.
There, a hale and hearty Old Madam Ming was resting on a lounge chair under a parasol, her eyes closed in a peaceful nap.
Hearing the boat dock, she opened her eyes and looked toward the bank.
Ming Yu led Song Song off the boat.
“Grandma.”
The moment the old lady saw Ming Yu, a look of relief and affection flashed in her eyes. “Yu’er, you’re back.”
Then her gaze shifted to Song Song, and her eyes lit up. “Oh my, this little treasure is so adorable. Come, let Great-grandmother have a look.”
Song Song instinctively looked to Ming Yu. Ming Yu patted her head and prompted her forward. “Songsong, say hello to Great-grandmother.”
“H-hello, Great-grandmother,” Song Song greeted timidly.
“Hahaha, hello, Songsong. You’re so cute.”
The old lady looked at Song Song’s soft, pretty, and adorable appearance and was utterly charmed. “Yu’er, she looks just like you did when you were little. In the blink of an eye, you have a child of your own. I’ve gotten so old…”
“Not at all. You’re still very young. You won’t get old.”
The old lady smiled. “How can anyone not grow old? But seeing that the Ming Family has an heir, I can rest easy.”
This was a tacit acceptance of Song Song. Ming Yu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Grandma, I brought Song Song here today because I have something to discuss with you. I hope you’ll agree.”
“What is it?”
Ming Yu was direct. “I want to hold a banquet at the Ming Family Ancestral Home to publicly announce Song Song’s identity. What do you think?”
The old lady smiled. “That is as it should be. However…”
She paused, glanced at Song Song, and beckoned a maid over to take the child to play nearby. Only then did she continue, “Yu’er, I heard you brought that woman back. What do you plan to do with her?”
Bringing Song Qingpei back had indeed been unplanned.
Ming Yu froze. After a moment’s hesitation, she told the truth. “Grandma, Song Song lived with her for two years. There are feelings there, after all. I was afraid Song Song wouldn’t be able to handle a sudden separation, so I brought her back. Once Song Song gets used to things, I’ll find a chance to make her leave.”
The old lady pondered this, her previous warmth replaced by a stern tone. “Yu’er, it’s good that you have a plan. But don’t forget the lesson your mother taught you. Lower-class people7 will do anything to climb higher.”
Hearing this, Ming Yu couldn’t help but frown as the past flooded her mind.
She remembered the lesson of Yao Qianrou all too well.
Because that woman had given her a status that was also once an unspeakable shame: an illegitimate daughter.
Back then, to get her claws into the Ming Family, Yao Qianrou had secretly drugged the already-married Ming Family heir, Ming Yuanze, and gotten pregnant with her. She then tried to use her pregnancy to force her way into the family.8 After failing, she was forcibly taken by Ming Yuanze for an abortion. She escaped, and filled with resentment, gave birth to Ming Yu.
She gave birth to her but did not raise her, treating her only as a tool to make money and climb the social ladder.
Time and again, she used Ming Yu to threaten the Ming Family for money, frequently dragging her along to cry, make a scene, and sell a sob story. She would force Ming Yu to publicly wail about their difficult life, and if she couldn’t produce tears, she would viciously pinch her thigh. At the slightest displeasure, she would use her as a punching bag,9 resorting to beatings and scoldings.
Whenever the woman got money, she would lock Ming Yu at home and go play mahjong all night.
Night after night, she would wake up terrified, hiding alone in the dark room, crying until her voice was hoarse and her heart and lungs felt torn apart, but no one ever came to hold her. It wasn’t until the house accidentally caught fire that she was discovered. Alone at home, she nearly died in the blaze and was unconscious from smoke inhalation when they found her.
After she was rescued, the Ming Family finally got the news. Her grandmother stepped in and brought her back, but her official status was that of a god-granddaughter. It was only after the true Ming Family heir died in an accident and Ming Yuanze’s original wife divorced him in a rage that she finally had the chance to truly step through the Ming Family’s doors.
She became the rightful heir of the Ming Family, and that woman finally got her wish and married in.
For so many years, she had worked herself to the bone, trying to do everything perfectly, just to prove her own worth. She wanted everyone to know that she had earned all of it through her own abilities, not through the despicable schemes of that woman.
Using a child to achieve one’s own goals was the tactic she despised most in this life.
Therefore, she would never give Song Qingpei any opportunity to use her daughter.
Ming Yu returned to the present, her expression grave. “Grandma, don’t worry. I know what to do.”
“Good. You’re grown up now. Grandma trusts you can handle this.”
With that, the old lady looked up at Song Song playing in the distance. “I liked that child the moment I saw her. You go make the arrangements. Have her acknowledge her ancestors and return to the clan10 as soon as possible. I will handle the rest of the family.”
“Thank you, Grandma. I know what to do.”
Footnotes
- ‘Dà bàolóng,’ literally ‘big tyrannosaurus rex,’ is a common childish insult for someone who is fierce and has a bad temper.
- The original phrase, áo yīng, literally ‘to train a goshawk,’ is an idiom for a battle of wills or a test of endurance, where one party tries to wear down the other through sheer patience.
- Zēngzǔmǔ is the Chinese term for a paternal great-grandmother.
- An idiom, lángxīngǒufèi, literally ‘heart of a wolf, lungs of a dog,’ used to curse someone as being cruel, heartless, and ungrateful.
- A common idiom, chìbǎng yìngle, literally ‘the wings have hardened,’ meaning that a child has grown up and become independent or disobedient.
- The original term, pōfù, is a derogatory word for a woman who is seen as loud, aggressive, and unreasonable in her anger.
- ‘Xiàděngrén,’ literally ‘lower-class person,’ is a derogatory and classist term for someone considered to be of low social standing and poor character.
- The idiom used is zhàng dù bī gōng, literally ‘to use the belly to force the palace.’ It refers to the tactic of using a pregnancy to force a marriage or secure a position with a powerful man.
- The original term, chūqìtǒng, literally ‘breathing tube,’ is slang for a ‘punching bag’—a person on whom others vent their anger and frustration.
- Rènzǔguīzōng is a formal idiom meaning ‘to acknowledge one’s ancestors and return to the clan.’ It refers to the official act of being accepted into a family line.
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