Chapter 21: The Chaebol Heir’s Canary — Lock Up the Little Cat and Put a Collar on Her

“Uu… uu…”

Shi Yu muffled her sobs and summoned all her strength to escape, but her hands were seized and pressed against the glass. She fell completely into the arms of the person behind her.

Her jade-white arms pressed against the car window. Raindrops splashed against them in tiny droplets, looking incredibly alluring. Jiang Qiuyan stared for a few seconds before leaning down to kiss them.

She opened her mouth and lightly nipped at the soft flesh of Shi Yu’s arm, grinding her teeth now and then, leaving faint berry-colored marks and bite imprints.

Shi Yu’s mind was hazy, her body utterly exhausted. The only thought in her head was to finish quickly.

But Jiang Qiuyan was at her peak and wouldn’t let her go easily.

Coated in so much alpha pheromone, Shi Yu’s entire body was unbearably sensitive. Every breath across her skin made her flinch, and her bones burned as if they’d shatter at the slightest touch.

………………

Shi Yu only heard Jiang Qiuyan call her name before knowing nothing more.

The little cat lay curled up small in her arms, softer than a cotton doll. Jiang Qiuyan couldn’t get enough of holding her, and before she knew it, she’d said things she hadn’t planned.

“Little Yu, I never saw you as anyone’s stand-in. You are the most precious person in the world to me. I want you by my side for the rest of our lives.”

It was an unplanned confession, but Jiang Qiuyan didn’t regret it.

She began nervously awaiting Shi Yu’s answer, mentally rehearsing how to coax her into staying if she refused.

The partnership with the Pei family had been terminated. Shi Huaixin’s shady underworld operations had been completely dismantled by the police. Even if he had extraordinary means, it would be nearly impossible for him to make a comeback. The glamorous life he’d once had was over for good.

Everything was unfolding as she’d envisioned. Being with Shi Yu was the natural next step.

But after waiting a long time, there was no response. She couldn’t help looking down. The little cat was fast asleep in her arms, tear tracks still drying at the corners of her red-rimmed eyes, her lightly furrowed brows betraying her exhaustion.

Jiang Qiuyan blinked, then broke into a quiet laugh. All that nervousness, and it turned out the person in question hadn’t heard a thing.

She exhaled in relief, draped her coat over Shi Yu, and held her against the seat, listening quietly to the rain outside.

She loved this kind of peace so much. If only they were the only two people in the world.

After returning from her mother’s grave, Shi Yu fell back into her old routine. When Jiang Qiuyan wasn’t around, the housekeeper stayed by her side every moment, as if she were a mermaid who might dissolve into foam at any time.

Shi Huaixin was taken in by the police for investigation. Pei Pharmaceuticals’ stock plummeted as a result. Pei Yiyi was swamped with chaos and called Shi Yu many times.

Shi Yu didn’t know if Pei Yiyi wanted to reach Jiang Qiuyan through her to seek help from the Jiang Corporation, or if she just wanted Shi Yu gone quickly. Either way, she couldn’t act on it just yet.

Jiang Qiuyan’s rut was approaching. She planned to help her through it before leaving.

She couldn’t tell if she simply wanted to help, or if she’d grown attached to this life. Either way, she kept hesitating and couldn’t make up her mind.

During the rut period, Jiang Qiuyan was still working. Normally she’d be home by now, but Jiang Han had suddenly returned from abroad and was very displeased after learning what she’d been up to.

She’d stretched three days of annual leave into over a month, piling up non-urgent work. Combined with the turmoil caused by Pei Pharmaceuticals’ stock crash, she had plenty of messes to clean up, resulting in a skyrocketing workload.

Shi Yu cooked a whole table of dishes and waited for Jiang Qiuyan. It was past eleven at night before Jiang Qiuyan came home reeking of omega pheromones.

Shi Yu took her coat and laptop casually, asking in an offhand manner: “Why so late today?”

“Overtime. I’m exhausted.” Jiang Qiuyan pulled her into her arms and buried her face in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply.

Up close, Shi Yu could even tell whose pheromones they were.

Jiang Qiuyan didn’t even think about eating. She held Shi Yu close, kissing and nuzzling. Shi Yu released a wave of her own pheromones to mask the foreign omega scent, but when Jiang Qiuyan pressed down on her, she pushed her away.

Jiang Qiuyan cooled off somewhat and looked at her, puzzled. Shi Yu clapped a hand over her mouth and ran to the bathroom, dry-heaving over the toilet.

Jiang Qiuyan thought she was sick and rushed over. “Where does it hurt? I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Shi Yu shook her head and turned to look at her. “No need. Just a bit nauseous. Some hot water and a good sleep will fix it.”

Her eyes were red, veiled in a layer of moisture. Whether it was the tears triggered by retching or some grievance she’d suffered, one couldn’t tell.

Jiang Qiuyan leaned toward the latter, but Shi Yu wouldn’t let her touch her.

Shi Yu lay on the bed and placed a hand on her stomach. The tears gathered in her eyes finally fell.

It was the first time since they’d been together that they slept in separate rooms. Jiang Qiuyan, worried something might happen to Shi Yu, made a floor bed at the door of the guest room and slept there all night.

The next morning, her mother called her to the company. After handling the urgent matters, she wanted to go home to rest, but her mother stopped her.

“There’s a cocktail party in a bit. Come with me.”

“Can’t Mom go with you instead?”

Jiang Han shot her a look. “I heard about that omega you’ve been keeping…”

“I’ll go, I’ll go, alright?” Jiang Qiuyan immediately gave in.

In Shi Yu’s current state, it wasn’t suitable to bring her to meet the family. Besides, her mother always wore a poker face and might scare the little cat to tears.

Thinking of Shi Yu, her lips curved without realizing. Jiang Han watched in amazement and became even more curious to see the omega her daughter had hidden away.

She wanted to see what kind of omega had bewitched her daughter so thoroughly.

The cocktail party was mind-numbingly boring. Jiang Qiuyan had fake-smiled all night until her face was stiff. The ballroom was a soup of tangled pheromones, suffocating her and making her miss the soft, sweet little cat even more.

Jiang Qiuyan slipped out of the hall while her mother wasn’t looking. Just as she was about to leave, she crashed into an omega. A wave of intense pheromones hit her face. She instinctively covered her nose and stumbled back several steps.

Pei Shuyu looked up at her, cheeks flushed with spring color, eyes glazed.

“Miss Jiang, I…”

She took a step forward and fell into Jiang Qiuyan’s arms again. And Jiang Qiuyan, affected by the omega’s heat pheromones, felt her mind grow foggy and her body heat up, consciousness slipping away.

A server who had been waiting nearby ushered the two into the elevator and, swiping a key card, took them up to the couples’ suite on the upper floor.

At the same time, Shi Huaixin, hidden in the shadows, signaled to several people. They gathered in understanding. The elevator doors slowly closed, and those people pulled cameras from their bags.

Shi Yu still didn’t want to believe she was pregnant, but she was afraid Jiang Qiuyan would find out and didn’t dare go to the hospital. She was even more afraid that if she really was pregnant, the baby would be disposed of.

For days she was wound tight, becoming sensitive and anxious. Nightmares plagued her every night, and she didn’t even dare close her eyes.

Jiang Qiuyan hadn’t come home for days. The lingering pheromones in the house had faded to almost nothing. Shi Yu grew frantic and built a nest out of Jiang Qiuyan’s worn clothes. Only then did the nightmares finally stop.

She didn’t know how long she’d slept when her phone rang, waking her up. It was Shi Huaixin. She hung up, but a push notification caught her attention.

With trembling fingers, she tapped in. The moment she saw the content, her breath stopped.

#JiangCorpPresidentSpendsNightWithPeiPharmaHeiress# #JiangCorpPresidentAndPeiHeiressHotelRompsFourDaysThreeNights#

Headlines like these filled the entire page. Among them was one reading “Pei Pharmaceuticals President Says Wedding Bells Are Near; Previous Homewrecker Rumors Debunked,” which made Shi Yu’s blood run cold.

Wedding bells are near…

So that was why the rut period had been spent with Pei Shuyu. Now everything made sense.

Shi Yu’s eyes stung and her heart ached, but she didn’t know why she felt this way.

From the very beginning, Jiang Qiuyan’s intentions had been clear. Wasn’t this outcome perfectly obvious? What was there to be sad about?

She had never been in any position to be jealous.

Drip. A tear landed on the phone, and Jiang Qiuyan’s face on the screen blurred.

The phone rang again. Shi Huaixin was persistent as a ghost. Shi Yu slowly wiped her tears and pressed the answer button.

When she woke up in the hotel bed, Jiang Qiuyan’s body ached all over, as if she’d been in an all-out brawl. Memories slowly flooded back, and her eyes grew progressively darker.

Damn it. They actually dared to scheme against her. It seemed Pei Corporation had no reason to exist from now on.

She pushed herself up. Her head was spinning from an overdose of suppressants. She fished her phone from the gap beside the bed. The moment it powered on, several message alerts came through.

Shi Yu had called asking when she’d be home. The timestamps were the day before yesterday, the day before that, going all the way back to six days ago.

Since noon the day before yesterday, the calls and messages had stopped.

Jiang Qiuyan’s heart lurched with inexplicable panic. She threw off the covers, pulled on her clothes, and ran out, forgetting to even shower.

The house was as clean and tidy as ever, but there was no sweet omega scent, and no one smiling at the door to greet her.

Jiang Qiuyan didn’t dare step further inside, afraid she wouldn’t find Shi Yu.

“Miss Jiang, why are you only back now? You didn’t answer your phone! Miss Yu is gone!”

The housekeeper’s frantic voice came from behind. The dread in Jiang Qiuyan’s heart finally settled into certainty.

“Didn’t I tell you to watch over her? How could she just disappear?”

The housekeeper choked up. “That day I stayed with Miss Yu until eight. She said you’d be back soon and told me to go home early. I thought you usually come back around that time, so… I didn’t expect her to be gone when I came back the next morning.”

“I’ve searched the whole neighborhood these past two days. Haven’t seen Miss Yu anywhere. I hope nothing’s happened to her!”

Jiang Qiuyan’s mind was in chaos. She lost the ability to think for a while. After a long daze, she remembered something and called Shi Yu with trembling hands.

Unsurprisingly, Shi Yu’s phone was off.

“Oh, right. There’s a letter in the bedroom. It should be from Miss Yu.”

Jiang Qiuyan strode to the bedroom. A white sheet of paper, folded neatly into a square, sat on the table. From the look of it, the housekeeper hadn’t opened it.

Jiang Qiuyan unfolded the letter. There were only a few brief lines:

Miss Jiang, thank you for taking care of me. I wish you happiness and peace. I’ll be praying for you from afar.

Distant and cold. Every word was brimming with perfunctory detachment, as if desperately trying to sever all ties with her.

“You won’t even pretend!”

Jiang Qiuyan crumpled the letter. Her eyes turned dark and shadowed. She walked out step by step, the air around her seeming to drop in temperature.

Her phone buzzed with a message from Lu Tong. After reading it, she learned just how much had happened in the past few days. No wonder Shi Yu had left without a word.

Pei Shuyu. Pei Pharmaceuticals…

Jiang Qiuyan’s eyes narrowed. A layer of frost settled over her amber irises.

She called Lu Tong. Her voice was ice-cold: “Find out where Shi Yu is. And tell my mother I won’t be coming to the company for a while.”

What do you do when the pet cat won’t behave? Simple. Teach her a proper lesson so she never dares think of running away again.

She surveyed the unusually empty house, her lips curling into a cold, dangerous smile.

It was time to furnish this home with some new pieces.

A birdcage of pure gold? A cat bed of jade? Both sounded fine.

But whether it was a birdcage or a cat bed, it would be fitted with iron chains inside. Then she’d lock the disobedient little cat in, bind her hands and feet, and put a collar around her neck so she could never go anywhere.

She would imprison the little cat and brand her again and again, making her completely, wholly hers in body and soul.