Chapter 9: The Chaebol Heir’s Canary — Lock Her Up So She Can’t Go Anywhere

The next day, Shi Yu woke in the guest bedroom.

Last night, someone had gone wild and lost control again, causing her to pass out right by the floor-to-ceiling window. Maybe this room was closer, which was why she’d been brought here, or maybe this was meant to be her room from now on.

Shi Yu pushed herself up on aching limbs and looked around, growing more satisfied with every glance.

Bright, clean windows. Good light, facing the sun. Plenty of space, enough to roll around on the floor. The overall color scheme was a girly pink-and-blue, right up her alley.

But who was this room originally prepared for?

Given Jiang Qiuyan’s personality, this was definitely not her style. That meant it must have been for someone she liked.

Pei Shuyu seems to really like blue…

Shi Yu’s mood sank. She didn’t know if she was playing cuckoo and stealing someone else’s nest, but to survive, she couldn’t afford to be picky.

Every man for himself.

In the Pei family, Pei Shuyu was the Eldest Miss while Shi Yu was an illegitimate daughter everyone could trample. To save herself, this was the only choice.

She told herself this, but a knot of discomfort remained. Shi Yu lay back down and pulled the blanket over her head.

Her mother had once told her that to rise above others, you had to devour them. She couldn’t devour anyone. Choosing survival wasn’t wrong.

A moment later, she poked her head out from under the blanket and turned on her side. A pair of long, straight legs came into view.

Her gaze traveled up. Jiang Qiuyan stood by the bed in a thin silk nightgown.

“You… how are you…”

Shi Yu shot upright. Every ache in her body screamed in protest, and she sucked in a sharp breath.

Too much of anything was a bad thing. She’d certainly been satisfied and had enjoyed it, but exceeding the limit by so much left her unable to cope.

“Does it hurt?”

Jiang Qiuyan sat on the edge of the bed and pressed a hand to Shi Yu’s waist, kneading gently. The gesture was so natural it made Shi Yu feel as if they’d been a couple for ages.

She didn’t want to get used to this kind of intimacy. Otherwise, leaving would tear her apart.

She dodged the hand and sat on the edge of the bed clutching the blanket. “I thought you’d gone to work.”

Wasn’t it that alpha who’d come to summon her back to the office yesterday?

Jiang Qiuyan glanced at the hand that had found nothing to hold. Her gaze darkened slightly. But by the time Shi Yu spoke, her expression had returned to its usual warmth.

“I am going to work. But I was worried a certain little one would wake up, not find me, and start crying. So I planned to keep her company through lunch before heading in.”

She’d gone to the other room to shower just so she wouldn’t wake Shi Yu.

The tips of Shi Yu’s ears flushed red and she looked down. “I was not going to cry.”

Jiang Qiuyan stared at her for a few seconds, then gathered her up completely, nuzzling her nose.

“Then it seems I’m the one who can’t bear to leave Baby Little Yu.”

Shi Yu’s heart skipped. She closed her eyes and leaned into her embrace.

Everything will go back to how it was sooner or later. So what if I enjoy this rare tenderness while it lasts? This kind of warmth might never come again in this lifetime.

Neither of them spoke further, letting time drift between their breaths.

After a long while, Jiang Qiuyan said, “Don’t overthink. If you have questions, just ask me directly.”

This child’s mind was full of strange things. Left to run wild, the one who suffered would be her.

Better to ask directly. Whatever Shi Yu wanted to know, she’d tell her.

Shi Yu nodded and nuzzled her shoulder. “I should go wash up.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Qiuyan agreed but showed no intention of letting go. Neither did Shi Yu.

Two more minutes passed. Shi Yu hummed pointedly.

Jiang Qiuyan sighed with theatrical regret, planted a hard kiss on her cheek, and reluctantly released her.

“Go on. Lunch will be ready when you’re done.”

Shi Yu looked around. There was nothing she could wear. She looked up at Jiang Qiuyan and shooed her with her eyes.

Jiang Qiuyan pinched her flushed earlobe, voice laced with amusement: “What? Want me to take off my pajamas for you?”

Shi Yu hastily declined. While Jiang Qiuyan wasn’t looking, she tossed aside the blanket and scampered into the bathroom.

Like a startled rabbit. Jiang Qiuyan thought to herself, faint amusement warming her eyes. She looked at the stuffed toys arranged on the desk and the decorations around the room, growing more satisfied with each glance.

One month ago, she had just gone downstairs to pick up the clothes Lu Tong had prepared for the omega. When she returned, the girl was gone. Staring at the empty room, she’d felt a restless agitation she’d never known before.

She thought about turning Hai City upside down, finding that omega who had the audacity to sneak into her bed while she was vulnerable, and showing her the consequences of something that should never have been done.

Then she remembered the omega’s delicate face, her sweet and sticky voice, and thought that was too rough. Better to lock her up. Since she loved to run so much, she’d make it so there was nowhere to go.

This room had been redecorated from that point on, in the style a little girl would love: pink and blue wallpaper, a princess bed. A little omega would definitely adore it.

But judging from Shi Yu’s expression just now, she hadn’t looked very happy. She’d seemed weighed down by something.

Maybe she doesn’t like this style?

True, she’d guessed based on her own assumptions, instinctively thinking young omegas liked these things. Too stereotypical. She’d ask Shi Yu when she came out and change things to her taste.

The sound of water stopped. Shi Yu’s voice came from inside: “Miss Jiang, could you bring me a set of pajamas, please?”

Shi Yu cracked the door open a sliver, hiding behind it, revealing only a sliver of flushed cheek.

Jiang Qiuyan opened the closet, selected a pink one from the neatly arranged nightgowns, then paused and turned back. “What kind do you want?”

“Anything. Anything’s fine.”

As long as it covered her body, she wasn’t particular. Not that she had the right to be. She was a caged bird now. Whatever the master gave her to wear, she wore.

Jiang Qiuyan’s footsteps approached. A white silk nightgown was passed through the crack.

“Try this one first.”

A simple design. A color that couldn’t go wrong. Just like Shi Yu’s personality, plain as water, as if nothing in the world mattered much.

But that was precisely the problem.

How could a person have nothing they liked?

“Anything’s fine.” “Whatever.” “Just make do.” What kind of life was that?

It was a bad habit. She’d have to fix it.

Shi Yu emerged in the nightgown, hair to her waist half-damp and draped over her back, soaking through the thin fabric to reveal greenish-purple love bites on luminous skin.

The nightgown was the same style as Jiang Qiuyan’s. On Jiang Qiuyan it barely covered her thighs; on Shi Yu it nearly reached her knees.

Shi Yu looked up at Jiang Qiuyan. She really was much taller.

Jiang Qiuyan walked up and ruffled her hair with a smile. “Our Little Yu is still a child. You’ll grow more.”

Shi Yu nodded, lashes fluttering.

So strange. Jiang Qiuyan actually knows what I’m thinking.

After preparing lunch, the auntie left, giving the two their space. They should have sat across from each other, but Jiang Qiuyan insisted on sitting beside Shi Yu, ignoring her own bowl and staring at Shi Yu’s chopsticks.

“Want a bite?”

Their eyes met and Shi Yu somehow read her intent.

Jiang Qiuyan opened her mouth obligingly.

Shi Yu: …

Looks like she doesn’t just want someone to sleep with. She wants someone to feed her too.

Just like that, they finished the meal bite by bite. When they were done, Shi Yu went to wash the dishes. Jiang Qiuyan scooped her up from the sink and carried her to the sofa, burying her face in the crook of her neck and breathing deep.

“I don’t want to go to work.”

Shi Yu was surprised. She’d never imagined Jiang Qiuyan would say something like that. Wasn’t she supposed to be a workaholic running nonstop twenty-four hours a day?

She’d heard that after Jiang Qiuyan took over the company, its market value had risen by tens of billions, her personal fortune skyrocketing along with it. She was the youngest alpha on the rich list.

Such a person saying she didn’t want to work gave Shi Yu an unreal feeling.

“What are you smiling at?”

“Nothing. It’s just…”

Jiang Qiuyan stared at her. “Hmm?”

“You suddenly seem like a real person.”

The moment the words left her lips, they were bitten. Jiang Qiuyan nibbled and nuzzled her lip, hands gripping her waist firmly.

“That doesn’t sound like a compliment. You need to be taught a lesson.”

Her “lesson” turned out to be kissing and fondling. They lingered for a good while before Jiang Qiunian’s relentless calls forced her to straighten her clothes and head to work.

“Should’ve just let Jiang Qiunian be the heir,” Jiang Qiuyan grumbled while changing shoes.

With her shareholding and her mother’s investments and real estate, she couldn’t spend it all in several lifetimes. Why work so hard?

She’d never minded before because the typical rich-kid lifestyle of partying and luxury held no appeal, and work was a convenient excuse to dodge blind dates. But now it was different. She had Shi Yu.

She wanted to spend every waking moment with Shi Yu, curled up beside her, breathing her in. Not staring at cold financial reports.

She turned back to cling to Shi Yu again, but Shi Yu pushed her away.

“Go on. If you don’t work, how are you going to support me?”

Jiang Qiuyan’s face fell. She grabbed her laptop and headed out. Shi Yu watched her dejected figure and smiled.

So she has a childish side too.

A ringtone sounded. Shi Yu turned back to the living room and picked up her phone. The smile faded when she saw the name.

“Little Yu. Dad said you wouldn’t pick up his calls. So I thought I’d try mine.” Pei Shuyu paused, then said hesitantly, “If it’s okay, can we meet?”