Chapter 55

She wasn’t sure if it had anything to do with the pheromones Li Jia had left behind, but in any case, after being enveloped by an Omega’s pheromones, all those uncomfortable, irritable feelings in her heart were completely soothed. Ye Chengxing slept soundly that night.

After tidying herself up, Ye Chengxing headed downstairs, intending to make some breakfast.

These past few days, they’d both been so busy, and their schedules never aligned, so she and Li Jia hadn’t sat down for breakfast together in ages.

But as she reached the bottom of the stairs, before she even entered the kitchen, she spotted breakfast already laid out on the dining table.

Ye Chengxing paused in surprise, and then she saw the Omega emerging from the kitchen with some tableware in hand.

Meeting her gaze, Li Jia curved her eyes into a smile. “I was just about to head upstairs to wake you, Sister.”

As she spoke, she reached out, took Ye Chengxing by the hand, and pulled her to sit down. “Sister, give it a try—see if it suits your taste.”

The breakfast spread out before her was beautifully presented, fragrant and appetizing. It looked delicious even before the first bite.

Ye Chengxing let out a soft hum.

She was usually the one cooking, and she’d grown so accustomed to looking after Li Jia that now, having the roles reversed and being taken care of instead, she felt a sudden awkwardness—or rather, a touch of embarrassment.

She didn’t voice it, but Li Jia seemed to read her thoughts from the look on her face.

The Omega let out a soft chuckle, her words carrying a hint of implication—or perhaps it was just the listener’s imagination. “Sister, you can’t keep treating me like a little kid who needs taking care of forever.”

Ye Chengxing smiled at that and teased back, “But in my eyes, Xiao Li is always the little one who needs looking after.”

At Ye Chengxing’s words, the expression on Li Jia’s face froze for a second.

She reflected on their usual dynamic and suddenly realized a serious problem.

She’d assumed Ye Chengxing liked the obedient, harmless, and cute type of Omega, so she’d been molding her image that way, figuring that with proximity and time on her side, she could gradually make Ye Chengxing see the truth.

But if Ye Chengxing truly saw her as nothing more than a little sister—one who needed constant care from her…

After her teasing remark, Ye Chengxing noticed that Li Jia hadn’t responded and her expression had grown even stiffer. She wondered if she’d said something wrong.

She mulled it over carefully but couldn’t pinpoint anything, so she asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

As soon as the question left her lips, Li Jia looked at Ye Chengxing and forced a small smile. “It’s nothing, Sister. Let’s eat.”

She’d grown so used to calling her Sister that switching to something else now would probably just confuse Ye Chengxing. The person who’d always been called Sister wouldn’t know what to make of it if it stopped abruptly.

“Have I really tied myself up in my own cocoon here…?” the Omega murmured to herself in a tiny voice.

Her words were so quiet that Ye Chengxing didn’t catch them. Though Li Jia had said it was nothing, Ye Chengxing still sensed something off and couldn’t help but urge her, “If there’s anything, you have to tell me. Don’t keep it bottled up and make yourself miserable.”

Li Jia had already buried her thoughts by then. Hearing this, she blinked and replied, “Of course. I’d tell you anything, Sister.”

Ye Chengxing nodded, then took a bite of the exquisitely plated food on her plate. Her eyes lit up instantly. “Xiao Li, this is genuinely getting better and better.”

“Our Xiao Li is just so amazing,” she added, her gaze sparkling as she looked at her. The Omega’s lips curved into a delighted smile.

…

Breakfast wrapped up quickly. Li Jia checked her phone and said she needed to head out soon—her manager’s car had arrived.

Ye Chengxing replied warmly, “Alright, go on then. Take good care of yourself.”

Li Jia grabbed her jacket and waved to Ye Chengxing. “I’m off, then! See you later, Sister.”

Ye Chengxing smiled and waved back. Once Li Jia’s figure vanished from sight, she stood there for a second, then called Xiao Bai over to clear the table. After that, she stepped into the kitchen to prepare the day’s items for sale.

But just as she entered, her phone rang.

Ye Chengxing’s personal number didn’t get many calls on a normal day.

She picked up the phone and glanced at the screen.

It was a call from the Ye Family.

That was unexpected.

Ever since Ye Chengxing had entered this world, she and the Ye Family had never had direct contact. Their most significant interaction had been when they’d cut off the original owner’s card during her clash with Lin Que. Beyond that, there’d been nothing.

From the original owner’s memories, nothing stood out either. At first glance, the entire Ye Family seemed perfectly normal, top to bottom.

It might have had something to do with the original owner’s poor mental state—many of those memories were hazy and jumbled.

Ye Chengxing’s suspicions about the Ye Family stemmed entirely from the details. The dissonance was too stark: on the surface, they doted on her excessively, yet in reality, they left her here to fend for herself. And then there was the inheritance that had originally been in the original owner’s hands, only for it to end up gambled away in a drunken haze, with the shares then “safekept” by the rest of the Ye Family under the guise of protection. It all felt far too convenient.

Ye Chengxing’s finger hovered in the air for two seconds before she pressed the answer button.

She didn’t speak, and neither did the person on the other end.

After a moment, as if prompted by her silence, the voice on the line finally spoke reluctantly. “Chengxing, there’s a banquet tonight. Come over—and bring that Omega of yours, Li Jia. Sigh, everyone’s been so heartbroken by your thoughtlessness these past few days.”

Ye Chengxing’s eyes narrowed slightly, her tone laced with lazy indifference. “You think you can just summon me and I’ll go? No.”

The person on the other end seemed choked by her bluntness but pressed on like a concerned elder. “You child…”

Ye Chengxing hung up without waiting to hear more, cutting off the voice mid-sentence.

People who hadn’t reached out in ages suddenly calling, and specifically insisting she bring Li Jia along? It was as good as waving a red flag.

Like she’d actually go.

Ye Chengxing turned off her phone screen and got back to preparing the food she planned to sell that day.

A few days passed since the call from the Ye Family.

The Risheng Gourmet Shop’s reputation had exploded, drawing more and more customers.

Ye Chengxing had expanded the shop a bit.

Gourmet Street was still in the works, but the custom kitchen equipment had arrived, been installed, and the kitchen tidied up. Previously, she hadn’t let customers dine in because she was the only one handling everything, and taking orders would have been overwhelming. But now, with Xi Yue and the others helping out, they could switch to that model—which meant, starting today, customers could eat in at the Gourmet Shop.

When guests received the menus, they were stunned.

No Gourmet Shop had ever offered dine-in service before.

On the first day of the new setup, sales shattered records, multiplying the usual income by dozens of times.

With so many diners flooding in, even with Xi Yue and her team, Ye Chengxing found herself run off her feet.

As the day’s business finally wound down, Ye Chengxing rolled her shoulders and smiled at Xi Yue and the others. She went over the pay details.

Once finished, she looked at the now-silent group and said gently, “Any objections to the wages? Things will probably be just as hectic from here on out. If you think it’s too low, we can bump it up.”

They all shook their heads vigorously, like bobbleheads, chiming in one after another.

“Sister Chengxing, honestly, you could pay us nothing and it’d be fine. You’ve already taken us in, given us a place to stay, money, and taught us to cook—you’ve done more than enough.”

“Yeah, Boss, this pay feels like too much already. I feel like my hands are burning holding it.”

“You’ve helped us way too much already…”

“We never paid tuition fees to learn, so we can’t take your money on top of that.”

Ye Chengxing couldn’t help but chuckle. “Wages are wages. We’ll go with the amounts I mentioned.”

She picked up her jacket from nearby, checked her phone, and added, “I need to head out. You’ve all had a long day too—once you’re done cleaning up, get some rest.”

As Ye Chengxing stepped out the door, the girls behind her watched her retreating figure, their eyes growing misty almost in unison.

The shop didn’t close too late that evening.

Ye Chengxing took her usual detour, removed her Disguise Potion, and returned to where she’d parked.

Sliding into the driver’s seat, the irritability she’d been suppressing surged up all at once.

These past few days, her mood had swung like this now and then, so Ye Chengxing figured her Susceptible Period was approaching. Alphas’ Susceptible Periods were notoriously irregular—no predictable timeline. Some came monthly, others every four or five months, even half a year. And even with forewarning, Suppressants beforehand did nothing.

She definitely felt it coming now, so it was probably close.

That’s why Ye Chengxing had been carrying Suppressants with her lately, just in case it hit suddenly without one on hand.

She unlocked her phone screen.

Li Jia had messaged her half an hour ago: filming for the day was done, and she could head back to the production team’s hotel. Scrolling up revealed more snippets of her day—dinner pics, a little flower spotted on set.

Ye Chengxing looked at the final message, a cute cat emoji with a coquettish vibe, and her lips curved into an unconscious smile. The irritability melted away in an instant.

Her fingers tapped out a reply: 【Just wrapped up too. Saw your messages now.】

She followed it with a head-pat cat emoji, then went back to respond to each one.

【Looks great. Good job eating dinner properly today, Xiao Li. Attagirl.】

【That little white flower is adorable.】

…

After replying to the last one, her smile still lingering, Li Jia’s call popped up on screen.

Ye Chengxing answered. “Xiao Li—” But before she could finish, an urgent voice cut in from the other end—not Li Jia’s, but a stranger’s.

“Hello, are you Miss Ye? Li Jia was attacked by a stalker and is in the hospital now. Do you have time to come over?”