Chapter 4: The Chaebol Heir’s Canary — Eat and Run?

In the spacious private room, the others were chatting happily while Shi Yu sat fidgeting.

Before seeing Jiang Qiuyan, she never could have imagined that the alpha she’d spent a night of passion with was Pei Shuyu’s fiancée.

How could there be such a coincidence in this world?

Pei Shuyu saw her looking wilted and assumed she wasn’t used to such occasions. She whispered that she’d find an excuse to take her outside in a bit.

Shi Yu glanced at her and lowered her head again, lips pressed shut in silence.

Though it had been an accident, she didn’t quite know how to face Pei Shuyu under these circumstances.

Just then, Pei Shuyu’s phone buzzed. She glanced at the adults deep in conversation, then tugged Shi Yu along to sneak out.

“If you don’t want to go back in, why don’t you browse the mall downstairs?”

Shi Yu nodded vigorously. If not now, when?

Pei Shuyu’s phone kept ringing and her expression was anxious. Shi Yu paid her no mind and headed for the elevators.

She hadn’t taken many steps before spotting a familiar figure.

Jiang Qiuyan? What is she doing out here?

Shi Yu didn’t want to run into her. She wound her way through the corridors and ducked into the restroom, hiding for a good while before cautiously peeking out.

“Who are you looking for?”

Shi Yu jumped so hard her hair practically stood on end.

Jiang Qiuyan stood with arms crossed, leaning against the wall and watching her. Those narrow phoenix eyes held no particular emotion, yet they carried an oppressive weight like the calm before a storm.

Shi Yu turned her stiff neck back and buried her face between the wall and her arm.

“No one. What a coincidence running into you here.”

“Not a coincidence. I came looking for you.”

Shi Yu’s heart lurched, her fake smile vanishing. Why would she look for me? Is she here to warn me?

Actually, she didn’t need to be told. She wouldn’t say a word to anyone. If Shi Huaixin and Pei Yiyi found out she’d been involved with Pei Shuyu’s fiancée, they’d deal with her immediately.

“Rest assured. I won’t tell anyone about what happened.”

Some emotion flickered in Jiang Qiuyan’s eyes.

“Really, I swear!” To boost her credibility, Shi Yu put extra emphasis on the words.

Jiang Qiuyan walked toward her, one step at a time. The click of her heels against the floor seemed to hammer against Shi Yu’s heart.

“Actually, I’ve already forgotten, haha. I can’t remember a thing about that night.”

The alpha stopped before her and let out a laugh thick with meaning. Shi Yu looked up, only for the other to cover her eyes with a hand.

“These eyes give away too much.”

Like a frightened little rabbit, red-eyed and trembling, it was hard to keep teasing her. But the things she said were really quite unflattering.

Jiang Qiuyan stepped forward, closing the distance between them until Shi Yu was nearly resting against her.

“Eat and then run. Who taught you that?”

“Huh?” Shi Yu blinked blankly.

Jiang Qiuyan withdrew her hand and looked at her directly. “Take responsibility for me.”

“R-responsibility?”

Shi Yu was even more confused. Normally, omegas demanded alphas take responsibility. An alpha demanding it was a first.

Before Shi Yu could respond, a heated argument suddenly erupted nearby. One of the voices belonged to Pei Shuyu.

Something dawned on Shi Yu. She instinctively put distance between herself and Jiang Qiuyan.

“I can’t take responsibility for you. You’re… my sister’s fiancée.”

Jiang Qiuyan didn’t know what to say. After all, it was true. Looking at the obedient little kitten before her, she found rare patience to explain.

She gripped Shi Yu’s shoulders and turned her around, walking toward the source of the argument.

“Look carefully.”

Pei Shuyu stood with her back to them, shoulders trembling. Before her stood a beta slightly taller than her, eyes equally red.

“Let’s just… let it go.”

Pei Shuyu’s voice shook with heartbreak.

The beta threw her arms around her, crying. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have fought with you.”

Pei Shuyu didn’t push her away, burying her face in the beta’s chest and sobbing quietly.

Shi Yu understood something.

“See? Your sister’s heart already belongs to someone else.”

Shi Yu didn’t turn to look at her. Fidgeting with her fingers, she asked, “What about you?”

Knowing Pei Shuyu had someone she loved and still getting engaged to her, she must have feelings for her, right? Seeing the person you love hugging someone else, wouldn’t that hurt?

Jiang Qiuyan was about to say she felt the same way, but seeing the small bowed head and the dejected look, a mischievous impulse struck.

“Does what I think matter that much?”

Shi Yu turned and tilted her face up to look at her. For the first time, her mind raced.

“So you want me to be Pei Shuyu’s stand-in?”

Jiang Qiuyan: “…”

She’d had a bad feeling the moment those eyes started darting around. Sure enough…

She reached out and ruffled Shi Yu’s head, a helpless smile tugging at her lips. I really want to crack open that little head of hers and see what strange things are packed inside.

Shi Yu flinched but didn’t pull away. The hand on her head was dry and warm, carrying a gentleness that put her at ease.

Pei Shuyu let out a soft moan. Shi Yu turned to look, but Jiang Qiuyan pulled her back.

“Not suitable for children.”

Shi Yu thought, We’ve already done that kind of thing. What’s left that’s not suitable for children? But saying so would probably just earn her more teasing.

She stole a glance at Jiang Qiuyan and quickly looked away before being caught.

Jiang Qiuyan had noticed, of course. She was just pretending not to see these little antics, the way Shi Yu craned her neck and peeked around like a kitten.

That thought passed through her mind, and the curve of her lips slowly faded.

She’d already found the girl cute more than once. During pheromone-influenced heat, that was understandable. But now the girl was merely standing in front of her, and she already felt a lift in her mood. That wasn’t right at all.

After that night, she’d asked Lu Tong whether the omega who’d spent her heat period with her had been arranged by Lu Tong. Lu Tong said no; the girl had simply barged into her room.

After investigating, she found that the kitten-like omega was quite pitiable.

She thought perhaps the girl had deliberately approached her to escape her situation. So she waited for the kitten to come to her on her own. Yet a full month passed and the girl made no move at all.

In the end, it was she who couldn’t hold out.

This meeting between both sets of parents was actually a scheme she’d arranged to see the poor little thing. She’d asked Pei Shuyu to bring the girl, in exchange for helping her with that beta.

As it turned out, the kitten didn’t appreciate the gesture.

Footsteps mixed with voices drew closer: “Where did those two girls go? Why haven’t they come back?”

“Don’t worry, in-law. They’ve probably found a quiet place to talk.”

It was Pei Yiyi and Jiang Qiuyan’s mother, Bai Lingshuang.

Shi Yu stiffened slightly and took a step back to put distance between them.

“They’re looking for you. You should go back.”

Jiang Qiuyan was displeased by that half-step retreat. She leaned down and murmured by Shi Yu’s ear: “Not going to take responsibility? Eating your fill and running isn’t what a good girl does.”

Shi Yu couldn’t think of a retort. After a long pause, she stammered, “It… it was you who ate… ate me.”

“Great. Then I’ll take responsibility for you.” Jiang Qiuyan’s reply came swiftly.

At this point, she finally understood: Shi Yu hadn’t deliberately approached her. The girl had simply stumbled into being her “suppressant.”

If it had been deliberate, that would have been easier. She’d meant well, so why was the girl acting all aggrieved?

Naturally, Shi Yu had her own reasoning.

First, Jiang Qiuyan and Pei Shuyu were engaged. Whether or not Pei Shuyu loved Jiang Qiuyan, they were an officially betrothed couple. If she got together with Jiang Qiuyan, wouldn’t she be the other woman?

Second, the only reason Jiang Qiuyan had sought her out was because she couldn’t have Pei Shuyu. If one day her interest in Shi Yu faded, where would that leave her?

Better to take destiny into her own hands than pin hopes on something intangible.

As long as she left Hai City, she could start a new life beyond Shi Huaixin’s reach.

The footsteps drew closer and closer. In a panic, Shi Yu shoved Jiang Qiuyan away and ran in the opposite direction.

Jiang Qiuyan’s back hit the wall with a dull thud. She rubbed her aching chest and unconsciously smiled.

Thin arms and legs, but she’s got some strength.

She wanted to give chase, but her mother’s voice came from behind.

“Yanyan, what are you doing here?”

Jiang Qiuyan turned. “Getting some air.”

Bai Lingshuang beckoned her over, and Jiang Qiuyan had no choice but to comply.

“Leaving Miss Pei alone and hiding here isn’t very polite, is it? If you don’t like these occasions, let’s wrap up early and go home, hmm?”

Jiang Qiuyan nodded.

After a few steps, Bai Lingshuang added, “Weren’t you the one insisting on meeting the Pei family? I thought you weren’t against it.”

Jiang Qiuyan’s mind was on the kitten that had just escaped. She didn’t absorb a word.

She’d just go through the motions, find an excuse to take the kitten away, and absolutely not let her return to the Pei family.

Shi Yu burst out of the hotel and ran until she had no strength left. She didn’t dare hail a taxi at the entrance, fearing Shi Huaixin’s people would spot her.

Her heart pounded and adrenaline surged until she felt lightheaded.

She checked train tickets. To get to a small city far from Hai City, she’d have to take the cheapest green-skin train.

She only had cash on her and would need to buy a ticket at the station.

Shi Yu flagged down a taxi and told the driver to take her to the train station.

This was her only chance to escape. If Shi Huaixin caught her, she couldn’t bear to imagine what awaited her.

So I absolutely cannot get caught!

Shi Yu’s heart was in her throat the entire ride. When she finally reached the train station and was heading toward the ticketing hall, two burly men blocked her path.

She knew them all too well. When her mother died, these same men had dragged her to the Pei family.

“Come along quietly now.”

Shi Yu knew she had zero chance of fighting back. But there were plenty of people here. If she screamed, someone might help.

“…Mmph!”

Before she could make a sound, a hand clamped over her mouth.

Shi Yu was hauled into a car. No amount of struggling helped. The car turned around. The closer they got to the hotel, the colder Shi Yu’s heart grew.

When she got out, a beam of sunlight broke through the heavy overcast sky. She looked up and couldn’t help wondering: Will I ever see the sun again?

She was taken to a different floor. The private room door swung open and she froze, blood running cold.

The person inside wasn’t Shi Huaixin. It was the same alpha who’d tried to force himself on her last time.

Seeing her, a shadow of greed flickered in the alpha’s eyes. “Come in and sit down, little niece. Your father will be here shortly.”