Chapter 30

Omega voices rarely betrayed specific emotions, but Ye Chengxing somehow sensed the atmosphere turning strangely awkward.

She reflected for a moment and pinpointed the oddity—Li Jia had never spoken to her in quite that tone before.

It carried a subtle undercurrent of feeling, something indefinable and elusive.

Even so, when she heard Li Jia say it, Ye Chengxing murmured her agreement and took a step forward. She only wanted to clear things up with Bai Tang and send her on her way; nothing more.

Yet no sooner had she moved than Bai Tang seized her arm.

In that instant, Ye Chengxing felt the air around them chill.

Bai Tang’s grip was vise-tight. Ye Chengxing tugged gently, but it didn’t budge. Any harder, and the motion would look blatant—like she was disgustedly flinging her off. She pulled a few more times, but seeing tears welling in Bai Tang’s eyes, she grew too awkward to apply more force.

She glanced at Li Jia, who remained calmly smiling, and her voice came out much softer than intended. “It’s nothing—just someone I used to know. I’ll send her back right away.”

Ye Chengxing had no words for the bizarre vibe hanging over them. Suffice to say, it was profoundly weird.

Li Jia seemed to pick up on her discomfort and spoke with perfect understanding. “No problem. I’ll go with you and Sister. More hands make light work.”

Her smile unwavering, she stepped up beside Ye Chengxing as she spoke.

Ye Chengxing nodded gratefully, thinking how wonderful Li Jia was. Handling this alone would have been excruciatingly embarrassing.

Still, even so, that indescribable strangeness lingered in the air.

It didn’t fade once they piled into the car together—in fact, it intensified.

Ye Chengxing took the wheel, with Li Jia in the passenger seat.

Bai Tang, seated in the back, casually rattled off her address.

Ye Chengxing sped toward it, even hopping onto the elevated highway to shave off time.

Gritting her teeth through the awkward tension, she tried injecting some small talk to ease things. Li Jia’s response was a vague half-smile, while Bai Tang jumped in eagerly.

If anything, it made the atmosphere even more excruciating.

It felt like ages passed—or perhaps just moments—before Ye Chengxing finally pulled up to the spot Bai Tang had named.

She exhaled silently in relief, figuring the awkwardness would lift once Bai Tang was gone.

The car door slid open automatically. Ye Chengxing eyed the pitch-black alley ahead and hesitated for a beat.

From the back seat, Bai Tang stole glances at her expression.

…She’d grown so much gentler. Even the way she spoke had softened.

Bai Tang had always been a little afraid of her before, but this reunion erased that fear entirely. Instead, the Alpha felt approachable, reassuring.

She seemed genuinely different now.

Bai Tang had no idea why, but her instincts drew her closer.

She studied Ye Chengxing’s face, then sneaked a peek at Li Jia in the passenger seat.

She’d observed them the whole ride and guessed this Omega wasn’t Ye Chengxing’s partner.

Which meant… maybe she could…

The words she’d mulled over the entire trip nearly tumbled out. “Chengxing-sister…”

But at that moment, the hitherto silent Li Jia cut in. “Sister, it’s too dark out there. I’ll walk her down.”

The two voices overlapped, drowning out Bai Tang’s unfinished plea.

Ye Chengxing hadn’t quite caught it. Hearing Li Jia’s offer, she inwardly sighed again at how kind the villainess was—a little angel through and through.

Still, she glanced at the darkness outside, reluctant to let Li Jia navigate such a shadowy path. “I’ll go with you.”

“No need—it’s just a short way,” Li Jia replied with a smile. “You can wait in the car, Sister. I’ll be right back.”

Ye Chengxing started to protest, but Li Jia insisted she stay put. In the end, she relented with a helpless nod. “Hurry back, then. And take your phone.”

“Mm. I’ll make sure she gets home safe.” Li Jia flashed another smile before stepping out with Bai Tang.

But the moment they slipped from Ye Chengxing’s line of sight, the smile vanished from Li Jia’s face.

She turned to Bai Tang. “What were you about to say just now? That you want to stay by her side?”

Caught off guard, her hidden thoughts exposed, Bai Tang walked on with a shy little nod. “She just… feels different from before. She’s so good to me now, and her voice is so gentle…”

“Is that so?” Li Jia crossed her arms and acknowledged it with an ambiguous hum.

Truth be told, the Omega before her mirrored her own past circumstances—and even her current mindset.

Or perhaps it wasn’t mirroring so much as shared longing. After all, someone so utterly perfect… anyone would crave to possess her.

“But you can’t,” Li Jia said with a beaming smile, telling a bald-faced lie. “We’re girlfriends.”

Her tone held no extra inflection, her expression perfectly natural. Yet it drew a razor-sharp line: not “her and me,” but an intimate “us.”

Bai Tang froze for a second, then flushed beet red. “S-Sorry! I had no idea you and Chengxing-sister were together like that…”

Her Omega voice softened further on those last words, turning “Chengxing-sister” into a tender murmur.

Irritation flickered in Li Jia’s chest.

She eyed Bai Tang for two beats before speaking again. “And you can’t call her ‘sister.'”

“Why not? Doesn’t she like it?” Bai Tang’s fingers clenched nervously.

“Not for that reason.” Li Jia’s lips curved, her smile sharpening.

Locking eyes with Bai Tang, she enunciated each word: “Because that’s a name only I get to use.”

Li Jia’s gaze remained smiling, but meeting it sent an inexplicable shiver through Bai Tang.

In the car, this Omega had seemed so reserved and sweet. Now, though, she felt downright frightening—like all that harmlessness had been a deliberate mask.

Her words hung in the air as they reached Bai Tang’s place.

Li Jia glanced at the other girl, still nibbling her lip, and gestured with her eyes. “There you are—home. I need to see you safely inside. After all, I promised her I’d get you back in one piece.”

Bai Tang dug her nails into her palms and blurted, “All that harmlessness you put on in front of Chengxing-sister is fake, isn’t it? You’re lying about being lovers too. Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell her…?”

Li Jia let out a soft hum. She curved her lips, her eyes cooling just a fraction while her brows arched sweetly, her voice clear as moonlight. “And what if you do? She’s mine. Don’t even dream otherwise.”

With that, a night breeze stirred, sending the layered shadows of leaves and branches dancing across the ground.

The alley was oppressively dark, and once they rounded the corner, Li Jia’s figure vanished entirely from view. Sitting in the car, Ye Chengxing peered into the gloom for a while, her worry mounting. In the end, she got out.

She’d barely taken a few steps when she ran straight into Li Jia heading back.

Li Jia looked at her, eyes flickering faintly. “Why’d you get out of the car, Sister?”

Ye Chengxing hummed. “Couldn’t relax. It’s too dark here.”

Without breaking stride, she quickened her pace to Li Jia’s side and naturally took the Omega’s hand in hers.

Li Jia’s steps halted as her hand was clasped.

Puzzled, Ye Chengxing turned to her. Before she could puzzle it out, Li Jia asked out of nowhere, “Were you worried about me, Sister—or her?”

The question came so abruptly that Ye Chengxing answered on reflex. “You, of course.”

In her eyes, Li Jia was simply too kind—willing to brave a pitch-black alley just to see Bai Tang home safely.

Hearing that, Li Jia’s lips curved subtly. The faint gloom that had clouded her face cleared instantly. “So you were worried about me. All good, then. Let’s go.”

Ye Chengxing grew even more baffled by the sudden mood shift.

At least the vague awkwardness that had clung to her earlier was gone now that Bai Tang had left.

That was enough.

Ye Chengxing sneaked another glance at Li Jia’s expression, squeezing her hand a little tighter as they left the alley together.

Only once they were back in the car did Ye Chengxing remember the news she’d meant to share with Li Jia. Bai Tang’s sudden arrival had thrown everything out of order.

She didn’t start the engine right away. Clearing her throat, she turned to Li Jia with a serious look. “Xiao Li, your contract with Starflash Entertainment can be terminated soon.”

Though she’d half-expected it, hearing Ye Chengxing say it with such genuine delight still left Li Jia momentarily stunned.

At first, when she’d learned of the offer to help, she hadn’t quite believed it. The process was bound to be complicated—not to mention clashing with Lin Que over her hardly seemed worthwhile.

Yet this woman before her had taken her hand time and again, proving with actions that she deserved it, that she was worthy, that any fault lay with those scumbags, not her.

Seeing Li Jia frozen in place, Ye Chengxing chuckled softly. She reached out, tucking a stray lock of hair behind the Omega’s ear with gentle fingertips. “Still spacing out?”

The warmth of those fingertips snapped Li Jia back to reality. “Just… didn’t quite process it.”

To feel this goodness so tangibly once more—how could she not crave it?

After a long moment, she murmured, “Thank you, Sister.”

Ye Chengxing finished adjusting the strand and leaned in with a fond grin, ruffling Li Jia’s hair. “No need to thank me.”

The gentle pressure on her scalp felt soothing, the Alpha’s faint scent enveloping her.

Not just pheromones, but the mingled notes of body wash and shampoo blending into an intoxicating aroma.

In the close confines, warm breath ghosted her ear with the proximity, sending a shiver down her spine.

Li Jia took in Ye Chengxing’s words, and the inexpressible thoughts buried in her heart grew heavier.

She thought of Bai Tang.

She understood the words left unsaid, understood why the other girl wanted to stay by Ye Chengxing’s side.

For people like them, the mere existence of such a light held fatal allure.

But having tasted it, how could she ever let it slip away?

Li Jia couldn’t help a silent, self-mocking laugh in her mind. She really was beyond saving.

Even after reincarnating once, the obsession carved deep into her bones had not changed in the slightest. If anything, encountering Ye Chengxing had only made it burn fiercer than ever.

She knew all too well how good the woman before her had been to her—good enough that calling her a benefactor would be no exaggeration.

Yet her thoughts weren’t of gratitude. Instead, she yearned to bind Ye Chengxing to her side forever, ensuring she could never leave, that she would belong to her utterly and completely.

Belong to her alone.