Chapter 53 Part 2

“Xiao Mo, you’re not alone.” As if seeing through her, Shi Youwan gently embraced her. “You’ve done well too. Grandma wouldn’t be disappointed.”

Wouldn’t be?

But I’m so disappointed in myself.

…

At 10 o’clock, Qiao Ke knocked punctually, delivering the clothes. “President Shi, I’ll wait outside.”

An ordinary deluxe room offered no place for her to avoid it, so it was better not to enter. With their parting imminent, who knew how long the boss would spend sweetly kissing and cuddling with Miss Mo.

Shi Youwan went into the bathroom to change clothes, while Chi Yumo neatly folded the outfit she had worn the day before, tucked it into a bag, and placed it on the cabinet for Qiao Ke to take.

When she came out, Shi Youwan walked up to Chi Yumo. “What time tomorrow? I’ll take you to the airport.”

She didn’t add “okay?” at the end.

Had she reverted to her true domineering self again?

Chi Yumo wasn’t quite used to Shi Youwan speaking to her in such an unquestionable tone anymore. She lowered her gaze and shook her head.

She lifted her foot to open the door, but the hand she placed on the doorknob was grasped. Shi Youwan cupped her face, turning it toward herself, and disrupted her heart with a deep kiss where their tongues intertwined. “Xiao Mo, let me take you, okay?”

Somehow… she nodded, even raising her hand to wipe away the lipstick that had smeared beyond Shi Youwan’s lips. Realizing her own lips were stained too, she hastily rubbed them with the back of her hand.

How embarrassing.

“I’ll do it.” This trick really worked.

Shi Youwan pulled down the tsundere Alpha’s hand that was smearing everywhere and gently wiped it clean with her fingertip, smiling. In the end, she leaned in again and planted a precise kiss right on her lips.

“There. All done.”

Cleaned up.

And stamped.

The door opened and closed. Chi Yumo stood inside, the scent of Shi Youwan lingering on her lips.

The room was filled even more strongly with Shi Youwan’s pheromones than when she was still there.

She knew full well that her feelings for Shi Youwan were both psychological and physiological, just as they had been before—and still were now. So she simply couldn’t resist Shi Youwan’s advances, her repeated seductions and boundary-crossing.

Was she going to sink into this like this? Was she… going to go back to how things were before?

Chi Yumo felt like she was on a path with no way forward or back—knives ahead, fire behind.

Either way was a dead end. Either way would end up hurting Shi Youwan too.

By the roadside, Qiao Ke followed Shi Youwan into the middle seat of the car. After hesitating several times, she finally spoke up to remind her. “President Shi, there’s still a bit of a mark here that hasn’t faded.”

She pointed to the left side of her neck.

This outfit had been prepared before the Lingjiang trip specifically for today and had been kept in Shi Youwan’s city apartment.

Qiao Ke had picked it up directly that morning and left, never imagining that her boss’s neck would bear something unprecedented like… a bite mark! This low-neck top couldn’t cover it at all!

Shi Youwan had noticed it while touching up her makeup—a very faint bite mark that would fade completely in a few hours.

Her selfish desire was not to cover it. If Xiao Mo had truly forgiven and accepted her by now, she would even want to bring her to meet her mother today. To tell her mother that this was the person she wanted to spend her life with.

“It’s fine.”

“…”

“Give me an Inhibitor Patch.” The bite mark didn’t need covering, but her pheromones seemed a bit restless.

“Got it.”

Shi Youwan applied the Inhibitor Patch, and the agitation in her glands eased somewhat, though the restlessness in her heart didn’t diminish at all. The precursor to her Heat Period—how could she not recognize it.

“Push back tomorrow morning’s schedule and clear my time. I need to take Xiao Mo to the airport.” As she spoke, Shi Youwan messaged Chi Yumo, asking for her exact flight details.

“Miss Mo is leaving tomorrow?” That meant she wouldn’t be around to help President Shi through her Heat Period.

“Yeah. She has her own things to do.”

“Oh, got it.”

Chi Yumo replied quickly. Shi Youwan forwarded the flight info to Qiao Ke and changed the subject. “Has Xiao Yi contacted you this month?”

Why was she suddenly asking about Xiao Yi?

Qiao Ke had just copied the flight number into a search engine to check the departure and arrival times.

Switching back to WeChat, she pulled up Xiao Yi’s chat. The last message was still from late July, when Xiao Yi had just settled abroad and reported her school and housing situation.

“No. She hasn’t reached out in these three months. Without your instructions, I haven’t contacted her either.” She had originally arranged a lifestyle manager for her, but Xiao Yi turned it down.

She said that since it was studying abroad, she should immerse herself in the local customs. She wanted to experience a completely new adult life on her own, like a grown-up, and didn’t want Aunt Shi to treat her like a kid anymore.

During Xiao Yi’s freshman year, she lived on campus but invariably returned to Shi Youwan’s villa every weekend without fail. She practiced cooking diligently, often preparing meals herself and messaging Shi Youwan to ask if she had time to come back for dinner.

But that year was the year Shi Youwan lost Chi Yumo—the most painful year of her life.

She never replied to Xiao Yi’s messages or answered her calls.

For the first few months, she recuperated at the mountain villa. Shi Yan, who had temporarily taken over the company, stayed at the Old Mansion. She instructed Qiao Ke to warn Xiao Yi repeatedly not to go to the Old Mansion looking for trouble. Otherwise, she would never see her again.

Xiao Yi didn’t make a fuss. She excelled in classes and extracurricular clubs at school, still the model student praised by teachers and peers alike.

The frequency of her messages dropped from once a week to every two weeks, then to once a month. For over half a year, Shi Youwan didn’t give her a single word in response.

By the time Shi Youwan had recovered and reemerged in the public eye, resuming her duties at the group, Xiao Yi finally couldn’t bear the long silence. On a rainy night, she chased after her to the Old Mansion.

That night, Shi Youwan met the rain-soaked Xiao Yi.

—Aunt Shi, what do I have to do for you to look at me even a little?

—Go study abroad.

—If I finish studying abroad and come back, can I work at the group? Will you stop treating me like a kid?

—Whether you can join Shifeng Group will be decided when you return.

—Aunt Shi, don’t be disappointed in me, okay? I’ll listen to you. I’ll go study abroad.

—Good. I’ll have someone arrange it for you.

Xiao Yi was merely the child of a deceased friend, someone she looked after out of duty on behalf of that friend. She couldn’t let it affect her personal emotions.

Whereas Xiao Mo was the one she was willing to devote her all to protect and pamper—the person she deeply loved.

Her heart belonged entirely and faithfully to Xiao Mo. There was no room for even a sliver of affection for anyone else.

Sending Xiao Yi abroad to see the wider world was for her own good—and it was the final thing she could do to repay her late friend’s trust.

Xiao Yi harbored hostility toward Xiao Mo, and she wouldn’t allow anyone around her who threatened Xiao Mo to exist. Xiao Yi and Xiao Mo were not comparable; only Xiao Mo was the one she cared about most.

“Have someone check on her from afar to make sure everything’s fine abroad. Unless there’s something special, no need to report back to me.”

“Got it, President Shi.”

After sending Xiao Yi abroad, Shi Youwan had no intention of continuing to “take care” of her.

In the past, she had been too soft-hearted toward the seemingly well-behaved Xiao Yi, and it had caused her to miss Xiao Mo’s graduation performance. Back then, she always thought that even if Xiao Mo chose to leave her, she wouldn’t be so heartless as to vanish without a trace.

As long as Xiao Mo was still in Jinhuai, or later went to the Capital Drama Theater, she would have plenty of time and opportunities to witness Xiao Mo’s growth and appreciate her on stage.

She had underestimated the damage “separation” inflicted on Xiao Mo—and she had underestimated Xiao Mo’s love for her.

Now, repeatedly rejected and pushed away by Xiao Mo, she was anything but innocent…

…

Shen Yu’s first birthday banquet was held at Yinzhou City’s most luxurious hotel—the same one that hosted the charity gala in September. Some guests arrived early, aiming to leave a good impression with both the Shen and Shi Families to gain an edge for potential future collaborations.

Though it was not yet eleven, as one of the hosts, Shi Youwan was undoubtedly late to arrive.

The moment she entered the hall, she drew the gazes of nearly everyone present.

Some with admiration, some jealousy, some appreciation, some regret.

The Yin Family was on good terms with the Shens, so their people were naturally among the guests. Mr. Yin had official duties, so Madam Yin attended with her eldest son; the second son was still pursuing his PhD abroad.

Since parting in Lingjiang, Yin Manru had been “banished to the cold palace” by Shi Youwan as she expected—calls ignored, messages unread.

Over the past half month, only Qiao Ke had kindly replied to her twice, both times with the same line: [Miss Yin, don’t worry. President Shi is doing well.]

She knew she had done something to displease Shi Youwan, but that hardly counted as bullying Chi Yumo. If she had truly wanted to “bully” her harshly, at least half of the business deals Chi Yumo landed would have been cut—yet they had increased instead.

Chi Yumo didn’t want her apology, her money, or her help with errands, so she could only quietly push some business her way from behind the scenes.

She hadn’t planned to come today, but after agonizing over it all night, she showed up this morning without even covering her dark circles.

Still, she only dared to watch from afar. She didn’t dare get close.

“Mom, Uncle Shen.” Shi Youwan walked to the main table and greeted the elders from both families in turn. To the unfamiliar relatives and friends, she offered a smile and a nod.

There were Alphas from the Shen Family’s collateral branches who admired Shi Youwan and had repeatedly asked Shen Munian and his wife to play matchmaker, but they had always been turned down. Thus, Shi Youwan had little interaction with the “various Shens.”

Shi Yan hadn’t seen her eldest daughter in over half a year, and their phone contact had been sparse; Shi Youran had been the one updating her on Shi Youwan’s recent situation. Seeing her daughter today, her mood and complexion seemed fine, so she beckoned her closer.

“Youran said you were sick again last month, running around busily even while ill. Can you handle it?”

“I’m better now.”

“Big Aunt!”

Shen Miao ran over from the side and hugged Shi Youwan’s leg, tilting her little head back with a giggle. “Big Aunt, you haven’t come to play with me and my brother in so long. Several weekends I wanted to find you, but Mommy said you weren’t home. Big Aunt, are you out there dating someone?”