Chapter 16

“Little friend, don’t you want a photo with Teacher Wen?” As they parted, Sheng Yingfei’s bad habit of teasing flared up again. She even dared to stir things up right in front of Wen Ruoyi.

Chi Yumo shyly stepped behind Shi Youwan. “No need. I look too awful right now. I don’t want to trouble Teacher Wen. Besides, she already signed something for me. I’m already very grateful.”

Who wouldn’t be shy in front of their idol? But she didn’t know that her bashfulness looked entirely different in Shi Youwan’s eyes.

“I’ll give you a reply on President Sheng’s proposal as soon as possible. Thank you both for hosting us today.”

Shi Youwan nodded politely. She didn’t linger another second. She turned and left the observation hall, deliberately bumping Chi Yumo’s shoulder on the way.

During lunch with Chi Yumo, the latter had already told her about the chance encounter with Sheng Yingfei at the airport.

Sheng Yingfei hadn’t gotten her jealousy fix, but she ended up eating another Omega’s vinegar instead.

Chi Yumo trailed closely behind Shi Youwan. After linking up with Zhang Kai and Qiao Ke, Qiao Ke nudged Chi Yumo and whispered, “Did President Shi get upset by President Sheng Junior?”

Wasn’t she feeling unwell? How could she walk so fast, like she was rushing to an emergency meeting?

“Hm? No… probably not.”

The “probably” came out as a breathy sound. For over an hour, Shi Youwan had been chatting work with Sheng Yingfei, while she talked shop and dreams with her idol.

She was self-aware. Normally, she wouldn’t eavesdrop on Shi Youwan’s “secrets.”

The four of them took the elevator down together.

Qiao Ke didn’t want to tag along to the suite and suffer. As soon as they entered the elevator, she spoke up. “President Shi, the business jet’s flight approval for tomorrow morning has gone through. I’ve also booked Miss Mo’s ticket for tomorrow morning.”

She handled work matters with ease. Emotional matters? She was just fumbling across the river by feel. She steered clear of President Shi and Miss Mo’s romantic ups and downs whenever possible.

Shi Youwan: “Mm.”

In a few seconds, the elevator stopped at the 39th floor. Qiao Ke grabbed Zhang Kai and shoved the room card to Chi Yumo. “Then Kai Ge and I will wait in our room?”

Shi Youwan: “Come find me at five.”

“Got it, President Shi! You and Miss Mo rest well!” They slipped away faster than rabbits.

The room had been cleaned by housekeeping. All used amenities were back in place, and anything that needed replacing had been.

The curtains were fully open. Sunlight flooded the room, making it blindingly bright. Shi Youwan took a moment to adjust.

It wasn’t the brightness she couldn’t handle. It was sharing a room with Chi Yumo when her body desperately needed soothing—and the room was so lit up that she couldn’t avoid Chi Yumo’s gaze.

The heavier the affection in those eyes, the more at a loss she felt.

Lunch had only involved pheromones, which was far from enough to soothe her emptiness. The sticky wetness had tormented her since noon, as had the jealousy in her heart.

Watching Shi Youwan head straight into the bathroom without a word, Chi Yumo stood frozen, reflecting on where she’d upset her sister.

There was no sound from the bathroom for a long time, and the light wasn’t on. Worried, Chi Yumo hurried over and knocked on the ajar door.

“Sister?”

Shi Youwan’s faint, thread-like “Come in” made Chi Yumo’s heart tremble.

The bathroom was dim. The full-wall blackout curtain was fully drawn, and the door wasn’t glass.

As soon as Chi Yumo entered, her vision went dark, and she stumbled, accidentally stepping on the clothes Shi Youwan had discarded.

She fumbled to bend down and pick them up. Shi Youwan’s suits were all custom-made—each one unique and priceless.

But the half-undressed Omega wrapped herself around her proactively. She nibbled at the highly self-disciplined little Alpha’s lips, even rubbing the Alpha’s sensitive glands with her hand, seducing her shamelessly to lose control.

“Xiao Mo, that Omega—seeing her makes you that happy?”

The silky thin fabric rubbed against Chi Yumo’s palm, along with the hot-and-cold tide of the sea, rising and falling.

No picking up clothes now. Chi Yumo endured the agitation and electric sting at her glands as she chose her words.

“Sister, are you talking about Teacher Wen?”

“Teacher Wen, she’s… hiss…” Chi Yumo yelped from the bite.

Biting was terribly unladylike—of course, love bites between lovers were the exception.

The only one Shi Youwan would bite was Chi Yumo.

“What is she?”

“She’s a senior I admire, a much older fellow disciple and school sister from the same sect, uh… sister…”

The little Alpha, whose ear was bitten again, finally got a clue about the older Omega’s unusual behavior. She pushed back with both hands, lowered her head to claim the high ground, and took back control.

But the instigator pulled away. “Don’t kiss… there’s medicine.”

She’d applied it that morning.

On top and bottom.

Topical medicine couldn’t be ingested—it was common sense. Shi Youwan’s rationality ran deeper than her restraint.

She hooked her fingers into the Alpha’s hair and undid her hair tie.

The Alpha settled for second best, nuzzling the soft, fragrant cheek with her lips, mumbling her “defense”: “Teacher Wen is President Sheng Junior’s CP, President Sheng Junior’s sister. I told you—my only sister… is you…”

“To the bathtub. Water, cold water…”

“Okay.”

Shi Youwan didn’t step out of the hotel all day.

She read every diagnostic report Chi Yumo had brought back. She even instructed Qiao Ke: “Photograph these and send them to Doctor Xu. Have her prescribe the best medicine to heal Xiao Mo’s injuries as fast as possible. Especially her face and hands—no scars at all.”

“Shouldn’t we have Miss Mo go see Doctor Xu tomorrow?” A doctor needed to look, listen, ask, and feel for accurate treatment.

“Don’t let Doctor Xu know it’s Xiao Mo.”

Even though the private hospital had solid confidentiality and Xu Yuan was trustworthy, it was one of the few places where she and Chi Yumo overlapped. There was no guarantee some unscrupulous staff wouldn’t sell them out.

The aphrodisiac incident and Xiao Mo’s injuries absolutely couldn’t blow up.

…

Those at the top had no clear nine-to-five.

At six in the morning, while Chi Yumo still slumbered, Shi Youwan on the plane switched to full work mode.

Reviewing and signing documents, meetings with project teams, hammering out new strategies—everyone in the company relied on her. She couldn’t slack even a little.

One slip, and they’d veer off course or sink.

At Shifeng Building, the president’s secretary had been in Shi Youwan’s office for nearly an hour. Qiao Ke sat at her desk, scrolling her tablet over and over, glancing repeatedly at the office door until it seemed about to catch fire.

The door creaked open. She shot to her feet.

“President Shi!”

“What is it? Why the panic?”

What else! It’s about your Xiao Mo! Qiao Ke hurried to Shi Youwan’s side in two strides.

She glanced at the door from the corner of her eye—the secretary had quietly closed it for them.

Shi Youwan’s personal matters fell to her. Most work was handled by the secretary, with some updates passed to her.

“Miss Mo trended online—not a top spot.” Qiao Ke set the tablet on the desk. “I checked real-time feeds. Only those airport photos for now. No one’s dug up Miss Mo’s identity yet.”

“Take it down immediately!” Shi Youwan glanced at the photos, ignoring the crazy comments, and issued the order.

If it were negative press, Qiao Ke could handle it herself.

But this was neutral buzz pushed by netizens. Hiring PR might make Chi Yumo think they were meddling too much in her private life.

Chi Yumo wanted to be a stage actress after graduation. Some early online buzz would help her career more than hurt.

“Got it. On it now.”

Qiao Ke left the office but returned minutes later. “It’s handled. Sorry, President Shi, I…”

Shi Youwan raised a hand to cut her off, her tone grave. “Lu Xin Ming is arrogant, cunning, and vicious. Xiao Mo bloodied and scarred him—he won’t let it go. We must prepare. Keep close contact with Xiao Mo these days, track her whereabouts. Assign two people for covert protection. Better safe than sorry.”

—How did President Sheng Junior find out Xiao Mo’s identity?

—What kind of talk was that? Was President Shi questioning her identity or her skills? The heiress of Shengshi Group—checking a kid who shared a cab and hotel with them wasn’t hard.

But Qiao Ke had booked the ride-share, and there was no check-in under Xiao Mo. Just going by “Xiao Mo,” fishing her out overnight?

No matter how puzzling, Sheng Yingfei had dug it up.

—Lu Xin Ming’s no pushover. His connections aren’t as good, he’s not as fast, but finding the kid’s name is just a matter of time. So if President Shi wanted to hide her, hide her better.

—President Sheng Junior was a chance encounter—why risk offending Zhaoda Tech and forgo easy gains to help them?

—Rest easy, President Shi. I’m not in cahoots with sneaky Sheng Jiahui or vile Lu Xin Ming. That’s why I’m backing you and the kid. Shengshi Group doesn’t need to ally with villains and ruin its rep. As for our collaboration—no holding favors over your head. I already gave you the USB. Deal’s on if we click; if not, bridges and roads to ourselves, each finding our fun.

Sheng Yingfei had explained: That restaurant was opened by Sheng Jiahui’s uncle with funding from his mother. She’d been invited to the opening, so she knew the layout.

The bodyguards weren’t pre-arranged genius—she’d asked Wen Ruoyi to source them.

A top actress had been everywhere in the country, always with top security. Few could beat Wen Ruoyi’s speed in pulling local elite guards.

Qiao Ke had compiled Sheng Yingfei’s public info that morning en route to the airport and sent it to Shi Youwan.

The rest required networks to uncover.

Group-level collaboration was major—Shi Youwan had handed it to the secretary.

Hearing Shi Youwan out, Qiao Ke suddenly understood, regretting her own carelessness. She’d thought the recording would keep Lu Xin Ming in check.

She worried for Chi Yumo too. “Got it, President Shi. I’ll have Kai Ge vet two reliable ones to protect Miss Mo.”

“Mm. Go.”

“Oh, President Shi—one more thing. Your appointment with Doctor Xu is at seven tonight.” Qiao Ke pointed at the time on her tablet. “It’s five fifty-three now.”

No traffic? Half an hour from the company to the hospital. Traffic? Forty-five minutes to an hour.

Not counting dinner.

“Got it.”

“Dinner?”

“Get me some sweet congee.”

“Got it.”

With a rare moment free, Shi Youwan rose and went to the window.

Same ultra-high floor, same panoramic view—but the scene felt dull. Far inferior to the past two days viewing it with Xiao Mo.

—Sister, can I ask… what floor is your office on?

—Top floor.

—How high is the top floor?

—52nd.

—How high is 52 floors?

—Mmm, almost, almost 300 meters.

—Sister, I want the precise number.

—283 meters.

—283 meters—higher than today’s observation hall?

—Mmm.

—283 meters—the view must be even prettier, right?

—Xiao Mo.

—Sister, don’t tense up. Too tight—I can’t move. Relax. I was just asking casually. No other meaning.

Had Xiao Mo really just been curious last night, or was there more?

The two days and nights out of town were meant to give Xiao Mo a relaxing weekend. Instead, she’d hurt Xiao Mo’s feelings, gotten her injured, and possibly created endless trouble.

Her phone buzzed. A message from her friend Yin Man: [Youwan, please—I mentioned that thing last weekend. What do you think?]

[Yin Man: Which day this week are you free? I bought a new yacht docked at Lingjiang City’s port. Come blow some sea breeze with me?]